Emmy at Work!

So one of the coolest things about the new gig is the fact that everybody is so kid-friendly here. Not that Yahoo! was not kid-friendly, it's just that we've set up space in the office specifically for people's kids to hang out. Our conference room has Legos, Duplos, Ping Pong, Playstation 2, couches and a DVD player.

I've already brought both C & E to work with me a few days and they both actually enjoy it. In fact, Emmy sat next to me yesterday for about 6 hours - coloring, reading, doing puzzles, playing with Legos, and watching the Little Mermaid. She also went to lunch with us both days, trying both Indian and Thai food. It's actually really great, as a parent, to just lean over and hug your kid throughout the day and not have to worry about the whole work/life balance thing. It's also cool, b/c they feel a part of what you do and where you go everyday. When you say that you have to go to work, they can actually visualize the place and know what it is like.

With all of our work demands and crazy lives, I actually think embracing kids in the workplace is a really important thing for a company's culture. It's REALLY friggin hard to be both dad AND product guy. A culture that appreciates that constant struggle and helps you find a way to deal with it goes a long way to increase employee happiness.

BTW, just to be clear, I am not advocating dragging your kids to work and forcing them to sit there and be miserable. If you're going to do it, try and find a way to get them integrated into the work, so it's more like they are a valued part of the experience and not just an observer.