Go Beyond the Basics to Support Nursing Parents at Work

Two bills to provide protections for pregnant and nursing employees were signed into law at the end of last year: the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers (PUMP) Act. How has your company met the regulations in both bills? Has it simply complied, or has it taken extra steps to support pregnant and nursing employees?

Beyond basic compliance lies an opportunity to revisit the culture within your workplace. My background includes auditing existing parental and caregiver programs while projecting future needs. Through these years and work with organizations, I have seen a great deal of creativity and smarts in action. It is more than possible to go above basic compliance — it is an obvious investment with a high ROI.

As Sarah Kellogg Neff, CEO of The Lactation Network, told me, “When it comes to attracting and retaining talent, the bare minimum just isn’t getting it done. Companies with a lactation room — but nonexistent paid leave or health plans without breast pump or postpartum lactation care coverage — will find those rooms empty because their employees weren’t supported before returning to work.”

So how can your organization go beyond basic compliance? Looking at the space that you’ve designated for pumping employees is a good place to start. Consider these questions:

• Do you have enough pumping rooms to meet the size of your campus?

• How is the location of these rooms communicated?

• How do users schedule use of the room(s)?

• How have you organized and managed break tracking (if necessary)?

• When the room is in use, how is that communicated in a way that creates goodwill?

• Is the lactation room designed as a single or multiple-user space?

• Is it a warm, welcoming, and well-equipped space?

The first of these questions often sparks the most concern within organizations. How do you find the space for one lactation room, let alone enough to meet your campus size? This can often feel threatening — how much space will I need to “find”? — when really the opposite is true. The PUMP law is flexible based on need. So, break down your assessment to consider temporary as well as permanent options.

One option that I’ve seen grow in popularity is the Nessel, an all-in-one, portable lactation station. I spoke with the company’s co-founder, Della Leapman, and she explained what drove her to start the business. “As an architect and a pumping mother, I quickly understood how to fill the void and bring a new level of workplace pumping station to life. We built the concept of Nessel around what I call ‘swing space’ — a space that has multiple, often temporary functions, underused or forgotten areas. Think a supply closet, for example. Recognizing that these spaces may move around within a campus or office suite, we added in flexibility for the employer by removing built-in plumbing as a requirement.” With its fully functional sink, refrigerator, electrical outlets and chair designed specifically for pumping, Nessel has been busy filling orders.

What more can your organization do to go beyond basic compliance? Getting input from employees who have used the space is invaluable. It not only informs, it actively engages, which underscores an authentic desire to learn from employee experiences. Here are questions you might ask in person, over email, or in an anonymous survey:

• Where did you get most of your information around pumping and other return-to-work policies and benefits?

• Were you able to easily locate pumping rooms?

• Did workplace pumping rooms offer a comfortable and user-friendly environment?

• What was missing from the pumping rooms?

• What would you add to the pumping benefits and supports?

Assess the responses you get back, and look for ways to improve. Even small things can make a big difference.

Examples of low-cost, high-return goods and services are not hard to find. And they are game changers. A sturdy chair with a straight back (unlike breastfeeding, you want to be able to sit upright with your feet on the floor). Generous amounts of outlets. A small table. A clean refrigerator. User-specific cubbies. A full-length mirror for rearranging. Notebooks for sharing encouragement between parents. Even snacks and water. These small things go a long way, as do support services such as internal peer groups and ERGs.

As Molly Dickens, co-founder of the nonprofit &Mother, told me, “The new legislation has created a fork in the road for organizations. Will you take the path of basic compliance and fade into the average? Or will you take the path that builds on this moment? Even if this means baby steps on that path — articulating a commitment to actively listen to where other weaknesses lie with the intention of raising the whole organizational bar — speaks volumes.”

. . .

New laws protecting pregnant and pumping employees were long overdue, and are now the standard. Taking organizational ownership of the quality and ease of the pumping experience at work (including business travel) signals an elevated level of commitment and care for nursing employees returning to work. Word gets around — and even more so if you amplify the commitments made as a point of pride and with intention. What one can expect at the intersection of parent and professional is a central theme in recruitment, retention, and yes, reputation. Proceed with the authentic goal of delivering the best experience possible for your working parents. The proof will be in the pride even the simplest shifts will bring to their lives.

Copyright 2023 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate.

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