OK, maybe that second to last item isn’t quite so typical. But according to the Parenting in the Workplace Institute, more than 100 companies nationwide have implemented babies-at-work programs. These allow new parents to bring their infants to work, typically until the age of 6 months or until the baby starts to crawl.

“The basic idea is that parents bring their babies [to work], generally on a daily basis, and care for the babies while they’re doing their jobs,” said Carla Moquin, president of the Parenting in the Workplace Institute and author of two e-books: How to Start a Babies-at-Work Program and Babies at Work: Bringing New Life to the Workplace.

“Generally, companies consider this because they have a key employee they don’t want to quit,” Moquin said. “[Additionally,] there are a lot of women that have babies in the workforce right now, so it’s a really big issue because a lot of small companies can’t afford long, paid maternity leave. These programs are attractive to businesses because there’s almost no cost involved in implementing them.”

Despite the benefits, it is a controversial idea. For some, bringing an infant into the workplace might sound like a world of trouble, but proponents of babies-at-work programs say the benefits far outweigh any negative side effects.

“I was probably the one initially who thought it wasn’t going to work,” said Wendy Zanotelli, COO of Uncle Credit Union in Livermore, Calif. “With that first baby, I was shocked to see that morale at the credit union really increased. Employees really started to know each other on a more personal level, which helps productivity, overall teamwork and team building. That was the biggest pro.”

Since introducing the policy, Uncle Credit Union has seen 19 babies in the workplace, Zanotelli said.