The Employer Even A Mother Could Love

Entrepreneur, July, 2001 by Chris Sandlund

When Stress Recess inc. president and CEO Devorah Slavin (above), 38, landed a contract to provide massage therapy for Delta Air Lines employees during the tense New Year's Eve holiday, she put out a call to all employees of her Atlanta-based company. She was blown away when one employee voluntarily came in from her maternity leave with her 6-week-old baby.

Increasingly, women with young children are working. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the percentage of married women with children under 6 who are employed full time has increased from 14.3 percent in 1978 to 34.7 percent in 1998.

Many of these women are attracted to smaller firms. "In a small organization, the leadership is usually very willing to adapt," says Marcia Kropf, vice president for research and information services at Catalyst, a nonprofit advocacy group for women in the workplace.

Case in point: During the Delta project, Slavin accommodated her employee by scheduling meetings to begin after she picked up her son from a day-care center. The meetings ended in time for his evening feeding so the mom could go to Stress Recess' new "quiet corner" to breast-feed in private.

Though you might not like the idea of allowing moms time off to tend to sick kids and attend school functions, the trade-off is usually worth it. Give moms the flexibility they need to excel in both the work and family arenas, and you'll create fiercely loyal, dedicated employees.

CHRIS SANDLUND is a former editor of Success magazine.