If your company is going to provide on-site care, their are really good reasons to make sure its a separate area with its own access doors and strict instructions on whose allowed into the area. Kid's at people's desks is a terrible idea, and frankly deprives the child of valuable play learning time with other children. Webcams should be sufficient for parents.<p>Some small things to think about:<p>1) custody disputes are a pain in the butt and you are now part of it<p>2) going on the theme, who picks up the kid is actually more complicated than just the employee who drops the kid off (come in early with Mom, but get picked up by grandparent to be with other kids is not uncommon) - get this crap in writing<p>3) get the food correct for the children - you need to feed them - you are now running a restaurant<p>4) Lysol - wholesale purchases<p>5) Make sure you follow all codes and do the required number of fire, tornado, etc. drills<p>6) Read the Early Head Start and Head Start staffing guidelines as many places require you meet those. Also note, those flexible Silicon Valley hours are going to be amazingly fun with staffing requirements.<p>7) Security camera setup with DVRs - should go just fine with the webcams<p>8) Be a nice employer and do the assessment tests for your staff<p>9) know the facility requirements in detail.<p>If you spend the time and money on setup, you will have an amazing workplace. If you half-ass it, you will be sued a lot.
I don't know that the math is right in this piece. In one paragraph they make mention of "a yearly tax credit of $150,000", then in the next they say "With a yearly tax deduction of $150,000 and a second deduction of 35% of costs (35% of $1 million = $350,000), that’s a total of $500,000 in costs recouped, or 50%."<p>Credits and deductions are not the same thing. A credit is netted against your tax bill, a deduction reduces the taxable amount of your revenue. A $1 deduction therefore provides a much smaller benefit than a $1 credit.
The article waits until the end to mention that Patagonia's been doing on-site child care for decades, and before considering tax advantages. I've been considering agitating for a small trial program at my job just because it'd make the place more human and welcoming.<p>Patagonia has been making a concerted effort to raise awareness of on-site childcare in recent months; this article appears to continue that mission.<p>From a scrappy start-up perspective, Chouinard claims that having a ready bank of testers was important for the development of Patagonia's children's clothing line.
We have so many tax benefits for corporations that offer employee services (health care, child care, retirement savings) -- why should these tax benefits be tied to employment and not be universal? Why is childcare offered by an employer to an employee deductible, but, not when the employee purchase it directly? Why does a 401k have such a higher pre-tax maximum compared to a personal IRA? Why isn't personally purchased health insurance deductible?
PR piece or not, USA really is behind the curve when compared to other modern, forward-thinking countries. There was a great discussion here maybe a year ago about an american family moving to Switzerland or something along those lines and reaping insane benefits to their family and financial wellbeing.
A good read also would be Let My People Go Surfing[0], which explains a little bit more of the philosophy of the company and decisions like this, as well as why they decided to try to run their business in a sustainable way. The founder of the company really didn't have a goal to dominate the market he was in, he just wanted to sell some items to fund what he really enjoyed doing.<p>It would be a good read for this crowd.<p>[0] <a href="http://www.patagonia.com/let-my-people-go-surfing.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.patagonia.com/let-my-people-go-surfing.html</a>
This really warmed my heart. It's amazing when a company treats its employees like human beings. It really shouldn't be that amazing. It should be an everyday thing ho-hum thing. It's really surprising that more companies can't see the ROI.
How about we stop couching all of our goals in terms of how they serve the corporate bottom line? All this does is make that bottom line the only real goal. People being able to live comfortable and happy lives is a good even if it doesn't pay for itself.
Am I the only one who feel sorry for the guy sitting behind that mother occupied with her child. Perhaps he might be annoyed? :)<p>I am all in for an onsite child-care facility as long as it is a standalone facility. Looking at the pictures, it looks like children are all over this office. Not being a parent, I can still comprehend the hardships of new parents who have to juggle between childcare and full time jobs. But having a baby does not give you a golden ticket to do whatever you want (NYC subway stroller parents please don't ram in a Humvee size stroller during peak hour). You have to respect the common shared space such as office space. Some people are not that fond of cute pudgy babies, not to mention the distraction etc..<p>I do support an onsite childcare facility and wish more companies will do the same but they should make sure that kids stay inside such facilities only where parents can check on them during their breaks.<p><i>parents please don't get defensive here. This is just an opinion not an ignorant insensitive slur towards parents and their young ones</i>
> Not being a parent, I can still comprehend the hardships of new parents<p>No, you can't. Your next sentence ...<p>> (NYC subway stroller parents please don't ram in a Humvee size stroller during peak hour).<p>... is a nice demonstration of your selfish, thoughtless, demanding, lack of understanding.