Babies in the office....
Discussion
EggsBenedict said:
beanbag said:
Am I the only one that thinks this is wrong? We regularly get employees that have gone on maternity leave bringing their babies into the office and bleating on about them.
I work in an open-plan office and take calls regularly and when you get a group of women (never see a guy), banging on about nappy varieties or tips on teething, it gets seriously annoying. Luckily in this occasion, the child didn't cry, but it's not uncommon they do.
I was chastised today as I told a group of women I was in a call and if they could take their social elsewhere. I was given looks that would kill and asked if "I liked children or was just a grumpy sod".
I love kids, but it's a f
king office and not a social area! Anyone else have to put up with this nonsense?
So basically you got the hump because you got told off?I work in an open-plan office and take calls regularly and when you get a group of women (never see a guy), banging on about nappy varieties or tips on teething, it gets seriously annoying. Luckily in this occasion, the child didn't cry, but it's not uncommon they do.
I was chastised today as I told a group of women I was in a call and if they could take their social elsewhere. I was given looks that would kill and asked if "I liked children or was just a grumpy sod".
I love kids, but it's a f
king office and not a social area! Anyone else have to put up with this nonsense?If you'd said 'would you mind giving me a bit of quiet please so I can finish my phone call', you'd have got a better response I bet.
I find the groups of clucking women round a new baby massively good value people watching, and new mums don't usually hang around all that long - babies need feeding/changing and they're off.
However from another angle - They could have moved away from the work area and gone to a staff room/cafeteria/soft seating area.
I'm hardly on the phone with my job, so it's not a problem here. If my role was more customer facing like the OP's then I'd possibly feel the same.
Fotic said:
Hooli said:
It's bks & should be banned. babies are all the same, they just vary a bit in size & colour.
I'd understand if it was puppies, they are cute & fun etc.
As a homosexual (apols if it's not the case!), just because you won't ever have babies, it doesn't mean you should resent them. ks & should be banned. babies are all the same, they just vary a bit in size & colour. I'd understand if it was puppies, they are cute & fun etc.
Anyway, threads like this always bring out the slightly aspergic, forever single types who hate people and are confused by babies. For normal people, it's quite funny to watch as it's such a normal human reaction to by pleased to hear of a new arrival and to want to see it.
As for resenting them, it's not that I just don't like them. I didn't like other kids when I was that small, why should I suddenly like them now I'm old enough not to be forced to socialise with bloody things.
Why anyone wants to know about them is beyond me, they bring nothing to anyone's life except cost, lack of freedom & poverty.
Some Gump said:
Tyre Tread said:
Why is it that people think if you don't agree with their point of view you are a miserable git. Perhaps its just the inability to put up a reasoned argument? Probably the case since cooing over someone else's child has no logic to it only emotion involved thefore no reason why anyone SHOULD coo over another's child. [/Mr Spock]
Look, I don't like babies. Never have and almost certainly never will. I have zero interst and will show zero interet in your child or any other. If that offends you, tough!
It doesn't make me miserable or boring it just means I don't like what you like - Live with it.
I wouldn't expect you to fawn over my new toys whether they be cars, motorbikes, knives, guns or anything else, so don't expect me to get all smiley about your several pounds of skin and bone or you'll be disapointed.
I was accused the other day of being environmentally unfriendly because I have 2 V8 cars. I then pointed out that the person criticising me had 3 children and asked them which was likely to have the bigger negative impact on the environment.
So, people with new babies, please keep them to yourselves or we non baby lovers will point out how un eco friendly you are being by procreating all over the place.
Thanking you!
NB. As the manager of a department I did once suggest that a new mother who brought her child in should hand it over to one of the other women and they take it in turn to hold the child while she, the mother who was being paid maternity pay, did some work. The women thought it was a horriffic idea and they should all be able to stand around together and coo. The men agreed it was only fair. - Guess what happenend next?
Autism?Look, I don't like babies. Never have and almost certainly never will. I have zero interst and will show zero interet in your child or any other. If that offends you, tough!
It doesn't make me miserable or boring it just means I don't like what you like - Live with it.
I wouldn't expect you to fawn over my new toys whether they be cars, motorbikes, knives, guns or anything else, so don't expect me to get all smiley about your several pounds of skin and bone or you'll be disapointed.
I was accused the other day of being environmentally unfriendly because I have 2 V8 cars. I then pointed out that the person criticising me had 3 children and asked them which was likely to have the bigger negative impact on the environment.
So, people with new babies, please keep them to yourselves or we non baby lovers will point out how un eco friendly you are being by procreating all over the place.
Thanking you!
NB. As the manager of a department I did once suggest that a new mother who brought her child in should hand it over to one of the other women and they take it in turn to hold the child while she, the mother who was being paid maternity pay, did some work. The women thought it was a horriffic idea and they should all be able to stand around together and coo. The men agreed it was only fair. - Guess what happenend next?
It appears that once again insults have apppeared as the last resort against reasoned argument or different opinion.
Cotty said:
shakotan said:
When they entered my office, I looked up and said "Hey, you brought me a hamper!", followed by "Urgh, a baby, I can't eat that!" when they got closer.
I like babies but I can't eat a whole one.That practice is just asking for trouble
TurboHatchback said:
I agree with those saying that babies should most certainly not be brought to work, offices in particular. Some people seem to go all gooey and think that babies and small children are great, I don't. The noise is so grating to me that when they start screeching I have to leave the room to avoid expressing my opinions forcefully to the owner of said child or muffling it in a manner prejudicial to its health. It's like a combination of foxes shagging and a thousand fingernails scraping down blackboards, I just can't stand it. Most places I can avoid or leave if they have small children present but I have no option but to be there at work.
A couple of experiences of being stuck on trains with screaming babies and toddlers charging up and down screaming have probably contributed to my phobia of public transport
. Fortunately my office is entirely men and I'm not sure there is a woman of childbearing age in the entire company so it's unlikely to be a problem here.
Parents seem to have this bizarre idea that somehow having children makes them better people than those without them and that other people should find their children pleasant and interesting, I find them neither. If people want to inflict their spawn upon the world then that is their right to do so but why they feel they deserve congratulations and special treatment from the rest of us is beyond me.
You're just a bit of a tA couple of experiences of being stuck on trains with screaming babies and toddlers charging up and down screaming have probably contributed to my phobia of public transport
. Fortunately my office is entirely men and I'm not sure there is a woman of childbearing age in the entire company so it's unlikely to be a problem here.Parents seem to have this bizarre idea that somehow having children makes them better people than those without them and that other people should find their children pleasant and interesting, I find them neither. If people want to inflict their spawn upon the world then that is their right to do so but why they feel they deserve congratulations and special treatment from the rest of us is beyond me.
t, aren't you dear? Seems a bit of a shame your parents saw fit exercise their right to inflict their spawn on us.You go on a rant about how kids in the office is guaranteeing a scream/cry fest, and how much you hate that, then go on to say how that in your work you don't have that problem.
And apparently you have a phobia of public transport because you had to endure young children doing what is natural to them on a train? Twice! Just move to a different carriage if it bothers you that much you numpty. I don't think it's too fair on kids to take them on trains during commuting times, as you have all the uptight bods on the crammed trains, but it's public transport, and that means it's public.
You might find it odd, but usually when people bring their kids to the office either (1) it's a designated day to do so (several firms do this so that kids can understand what their parents do all day) or (2) it's Christmas, and nobody's doing much work anyway or (3) people ask them to bring their newborn to work so that they can see the baby, because some people do find them interesting/cute/whatever. Just deal with it - it doesn't last all day.
I don't think that many parents think that being a parent somehow makes them special, or better than anyone else. There's always the exceptions of course - those people who write to the papers saying stuff like 'as a parent... etc.' but it's not a general rule. Sadder are those who go on a rant about how they hate kids etc., completely losing sight of the fact that they were one once.
Thankfully not worked in offices where people who leave, bring their babies in to visit old work colleagues.
Worked in many offices with big man babies though, one particular sales director used to have massive temper tantrums, cried and rolled around on the floor like Hitler in the Führerbunker when the server crashed and he lost a presentation he'd been working on.
Worked in many offices with big man babies though, one particular sales director used to have massive temper tantrums, cried and rolled around on the floor like Hitler in the Führerbunker when the server crashed and he lost a presentation he'd been working on.
Tyre Tread said:
Some Gump said:
Tyre Tread said:
Why is it that people think if you don't agree with their point of view you are a miserable git. Perhaps its just the inability to put up a reasoned argument? Probably the case since cooing over someone else's child has no logic to it only emotion involved thefore no reason why anyone SHOULD coo over another's child. [/Mr Spock]
Look, I don't like babies. Never have and almost certainly never will. I have zero interst and will show zero interet in your child or any other. If that offends you, tough!
It doesn't make me miserable or boring it just means I don't like what you like - Live with it.
I wouldn't expect you to fawn over my new toys whether they be cars, motorbikes, knives, guns or anything else, so don't expect me to get all smiley about your several pounds of skin and bone or you'll be disapointed.
I was accused the other day of being environmentally unfriendly because I have 2 V8 cars. I then pointed out that the person criticising me had 3 children and asked them which was likely to have the bigger negative impact on the environment.
So, people with new babies, please keep them to yourselves or we non baby lovers will point out how un eco friendly you are being by procreating all over the place.
Thanking you!
NB. As the manager of a department I did once suggest that a new mother who brought her child in should hand it over to one of the other women and they take it in turn to hold the child while she, the mother who was being paid maternity pay, did some work. The women thought it was a horriffic idea and they should all be able to stand around together and coo. The men agreed it was only fair. - Guess what happenend next?
Autism?Look, I don't like babies. Never have and almost certainly never will. I have zero interst and will show zero interet in your child or any other. If that offends you, tough!
It doesn't make me miserable or boring it just means I don't like what you like - Live with it.
I wouldn't expect you to fawn over my new toys whether they be cars, motorbikes, knives, guns or anything else, so don't expect me to get all smiley about your several pounds of skin and bone or you'll be disapointed.
I was accused the other day of being environmentally unfriendly because I have 2 V8 cars. I then pointed out that the person criticising me had 3 children and asked them which was likely to have the bigger negative impact on the environment.
So, people with new babies, please keep them to yourselves or we non baby lovers will point out how un eco friendly you are being by procreating all over the place.
Thanking you!
NB. As the manager of a department I did once suggest that a new mother who brought her child in should hand it over to one of the other women and they take it in turn to hold the child while she, the mother who was being paid maternity pay, did some work. The women thought it was a horriffic idea and they should all be able to stand around together and coo. The men agreed it was only fair. - Guess what happenend next?
It appears that once again insults have apppeared as the last resort against reasoned argument or different opinion.
t/some other random insult. Newsflash for them all: Some people are not mentally ill but just don't like babies and small children.
Most of the time this is fine, we just avoid them. At work, not being there is not an option. Lots of people would be annoyed if their colleagues brought in their dog/cat/horse/monitor lizard/skunk into the office to show everyone, some will be annoyed about babies. To be considerate to ones colleagues it seems fair to either leave them at home or show them outside to people who are interested.
TurboHatchback said:
It is interesting how those that don't like children can accept that liking them is a valid opinion that they do not share. Those that do like/have children cannot accept that not liking them is a valid opinion, the person must clearly be gay/infertile/autistic/psychotic/a tt/some other random insult.
Having children is not a rational decision, but an emotional one.t/some other random insult. Consequently, obliquely justifying having children is unlikely to be done rationally, but instead emotionally.
Edited by Johnnytheboy on Friday 1st August 21:01
Moonhawk said:
Cotty said:
Take a picture in. My car is my desktop
Corporate IT policy - desktop pictures are not allowed 
It's a corporate conspiracy by the parents at the top people!
TurboHatchback said:
It is interesting how those that don't like children can accept that liking them is a valid opinion that they do not share. Those that do like/have children cannot accept that not liking them is a valid opinion, the person must clearly be gay/infertile/autistic/psychotic/a tt/some other random insult.
Once again you generalise. I can accept that you don't like children. I kind of pity the situation, but I can accept it. I think you're a tt/some other random insult. t because of your rant earlier - you just need to get over yourself. Nobody brings a baby into the office and spends the whole day there. At least nobody with any sense does. So for the time they spend in the office, just deal with it. If you're on the phone next to the clucking gang, ask them politely to keep it down as you're on the phone, or to go somewhere else. It's not that hard. Even people who spawn appreciate the office is not a creche.TurboHatchback said:
Newsflash for them all: Some people are not mentally ill but just don't like babies and small children.
Most of the time this is fine, we just avoid them. At work, not being there is not an option. Lots of people would be annoyed if their colleagues brought in their dog/cat/horse/monitor lizard/skunk into the office to show everyone, some will be annoyed about babies. To be considerate to ones colleagues it seems fair to either leave them at home or show them outside to people who are interested.
Babies are different, and comparing a newborn to a pet is frankly ridiculous.Most of the time this is fine, we just avoid them. At work, not being there is not an option. Lots of people would be annoyed if their colleagues brought in their dog/cat/horse/monitor lizard/skunk into the office to show everyone, some will be annoyed about babies. To be considerate to ones colleagues it seems fair to either leave them at home or show them outside to people who are interested.
Edited by EggsBenedict on Friday 1st August 16:28
EggsBenedict said:
Babies are different, and comparing a newborn to a pet is frankly ridiculous.
It most certainly is but they still do it, very sad.Edited by EggsBenedict on Friday 1st August 16:28
In the words of Frankie Boyle:
"Pets are f
king tragic. Having a pet is basically like saying; I've tried to find love with my own species and failed"
Seriously, though comparing children to pets is a level of mental retardation rarely exceeded even on PH.
Once again, insult: The last resort when reasoned argument and discussion fails.
You know, thinking about it, it is the parents fault for bringing the 'little bundles of joy' into the office not the child's fault at all.
Just another set of inconsiderate people (aka new parents) who think the mix of their egg and (insert some random guy)'s sperm is worthy of parading in front of colleagues.
It's a fking baby. Its just like any other baby and has no real place in the workplace.
At least a pet interacts. Even a goldfish reacts when you tap on the bowl. A newborn baby? Just dog food really.
You know, thinking about it, it is the parents fault for bringing the 'little bundles of joy' into the office not the child's fault at all.
Just another set of inconsiderate people (aka new parents) who think the mix of their egg and (insert some random guy)'s sperm is worthy of parading in front of colleagues.
It's a f
king baby. Its just like any other baby and has no real place in the workplace. At least a pet interacts. Even a goldfish reacts when you tap on the bowl. A newborn baby? Just dog food really.
Tyre Tread said:
Possibly, but I doubt it. My wife would have recognised it long ago since she deals with autism as part of her job.
It appears that once again insults have apppeared as the last resort against reasoned argument or different opinion.
I was personally quite impressed by the complete lack of empathy shown in your post, combined with the lack of social skills implied by the witty banter around your 2 V8's, and epic way you managed your team there.It appears that once again insults have apppeared as the last resort against reasoned argument or different opinion.
The thing with reasoned arguements in this sort of situation is that there is no point offering you one. Any suggestion that a baby (the most important thing in that mum's life) has more importance to her coworkers than your new V8 is obviously going to fall on deaf ears, because you've already stated that you feel that a human being and one of your posessions hold the same value. Your management anecdote also shows that you've not yet grasped the idea that coworkers do interact, and take an interest in one another - that's why you normally manage "a team" and not "6 bodies".
One could argue that a single 15 minute "this is my baby" is good for morale, and will result in increased net team productivity for the working week. You could argue that bringing the baby to work once helps smooth the transition from maternity to a return to work. The thing is, I'm not sure that these arguements will even make you consider them for a second - you need some degree of empathy to be able to see things from your team member's side, and your post shows that if you do have the ability to do that, you choose not to.
Of course, it now looks like I'm trying to single you out or something - but all the posters who have said guff like "bag of meat" and whatnot - they're either trying to be internet heroes, or they have a wire off somewhere.
Some Gump said:
Tyre Tread said:
Possibly, but I doubt it. My wife would have recognised it long ago since she deals with autism as part of her job.
It appears that once again insults have apppeared as the last resort against reasoned argument or different opinion.
I was personally quite impressed by the complete lack of empathy shown in your post, combined with the lack of social skills implied by the witty banter around your 2 V8's, and epic way you managed your team there.It appears that once again insults have apppeared as the last resort against reasoned argument or different opinion.
The thing with reasoned arguements in this sort of situation is that there is no point offering you one. Any suggestion that a baby (the most important thing in that mum's life) has more importance to her coworkers than your new V8 is obviously going to fall on deaf ears, because you've already stated that you feel that a human being and one of your posessions hold the same value. Your management anecdote also shows that you've not yet grasped the idea that coworkers do interact, and take an interest in one another - that's why you normally manage "a team" and not "6 bodies".
One could argue that a single 15 minute "this is my baby" is good for morale, and will result in increased net team productivity for the working week. You could argue that bringing the baby to work once helps smooth the transition from maternity to a return to work. The thing is, I'm not sure that these arguements will even make you consider them for a second - you need some degree of empathy to be able to see things from your team member's side, and your post shows that if you do have the ability to do that, you choose not to.
Of course, it now looks like I'm trying to single you out or something - but all the posters who have said guff like "bag of meat" and whatnot - they're either trying to be internet heroes, or they have a wire off somewhere.
It was your total lack of empathy and ability to relate that struck me.
Before I became a father the whole office kid thing was something I played along with - as my colleagues we interested and it seemed like a life chaining thing, but one I had no experience of. So I would ask how the mum&dad were doing, sleep, etc and be interested - because that is what colleagues do. Takes 2 mins and no more. It's part of being in a team. Since being a father I show more interest - because I can relate to it.
No empathy and phrases like "As the manager of a department I did once suggest that a new mother who brought her child in should hand it over to one of the other women and they take it in turn to hold the child while she, the mother who was being paid maternity pay, did some work." only reinforce that you have issues that a wider group might view as not as the normal respect a manager should show.
When you choose to work in a company then you have to follow the norms of an organisation to some extent.
Especially as a manager, where you are supposed to also set a standard.
Phrases like the one you used make you look like you have a massive lack of empathy, even if that is not what you intended. You need to find appropriate humour at work....
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