A Dunkin' Donuts employee held a baby at work, and a customer internet-shamed her
In not-so-cool news, a woman who works at Dunkin’ Donuts is being shamed online for holding a baby at work.
It all started when a customer with the social media handle @FlawdazFinest86 recently shared a photo of a female employee holding a baby while working the counter at Dunkin’ Donuts. “Really, DunkinDonuts?” read the caption of the now-deleted post, which was screen-shot and Instagrammed.
But few agreed with the OP on Twitter, where @FlawdazFinest86 was called judgmental and callous for tagging doughnut company.
My mom was a SINGLE PARENT of 3 , an I was the youngest . She would beg her manager to let me come to work with her because she couldn't afford daycare because my dad left and never came back, even if it is her friends baby'. SHE IS HELPING . THATS LOVE !
— Nuu (@lovenuuu_) November 23, 2017
I have had to take my sons to work. Homeschooled them both, often sat them at a cafe table to study. #hustle
— Stacey Paige (@slbasketballmom) November 23, 2017
did you get your donut?? yes??? please stop complaining. please don’t complain when women are simply trying to make a living for their family. keeping this woman in my prayers
— kayleigh rose (@kayrose836) November 23, 2017
If you have no childcare you can't leave your kid. If you call off work to watch the kid you might lose your job. She's doing what she can.
— lissie (@discreet_music) November 22, 2017
You’re awfully worried about your health for somebody eating at Dunkin’ Donuts.
— Matt Blair (@mjblair) November 22, 2017
Some, though, supported the idea that babies don’t belong in the workplace.
i was about say something in the lady's defense but if the baby is sneezing on the food and what, that's not even cool.
— varrick (@thepizzapopo) November 29, 2017
She can't do it
— Courtney Sturgeon (@CourtneySturge5) November 29, 2017
In response to the backlash, @FlawdazFinest86 doubled down on her stance, tweeting to one critic, “The baby sneezing all over the food I was about to buy is hurting me. Now mind your damn business and stop speaking on stuff you know nothing about. FOH!!!!”
@FlawdazFinest86 did not return Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment, and no one knows for sure whether the woman in the picture is, in fact, the mother or if she did bring her baby to work. However, according to Carla Moquin, the founder of Babies at Work, a program created by the Parenting in the Workplace Institute, the practice benefits both a woman and her baby. “We’ve documented more than 2,100 babies brought to at least 200 companies,” Moquin tells Yahoo Lifestyle.
That means babies are napping in cribs inside boardrooms, cradled in carriers during conference calls, and bounced on laps while moms are creating spreadsheets. “We’ve found that these moms are more motivated to get their work done, meet their children’s needs more quickly, and co-workers also bond with the babies, creating a community of care,” says Moquin.
There are some caveats: A mother’s productivity can decline, co-workers may not appreciate the baby talk, and kids who are walking may distract and pose a liability. Says Moquin, “There needs to be a formal, structured policy in place for people to benefit.”
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