When Maegan Moore returned to work about two months ago after the birth of her first childshe found a unique solution to balance her career and motherhood: a work and play office that allows her to care for her baby, Eleanor, while having a dedicated workspace.
“For his age, it’s awesome,” Moore told Business Insider. “I’m going to try to time it so I can feed her, drop her off in the gaming desk area, and do some work that doesn’t involve calls.”
work and play in office is a kind of cabin designed for parents and children. The desk has a dish workspace for parents and a playpen-like accessory.
Moore uses the office of a coworking space in New York, but the idea originally started in a library in Virginia which largely serves a disadvantaged population that struggles to access both child care and reliable internet access.
Maegan Moore uses the gaming desk at Worplayce Courtesy of Maegan Moore
Moore doesn’t use the office for long periods of time – about an hour or two is his current limit. Even if she has childcare in the middle of the day, she uses the office most of the day and afternoon. She says being able to have Eleanor nearby and breastfeed her, rather than pump, made her return to work easier.
“It’s a real gift,” she said.
Mom Uses Office to Cope with School Days
Bethany Crystal, who works for several companies in the technology and education sectors, uses the work and play desk for her 21-month-old, Sydney. Due to the nature of her job, she does not have an office to report to. Before finding the work and play office, she already tried to breastfeed her baby in a WeWork coworking space or struggling to find a place to put her while she interviewed with companies. The work and play office solved this problem.
“It’s really helpful to be able to move around for an hour or two and have a place to put a baby,” Crystal told BI.
Now that Sydney is a little girl, she is enrolled in a local school. Montessori Schoolbut frequent days off mean Crystal still uses the work and play desk regularly.
“There are a lot of in-skilling days and vacations, which takes a toll on professional parents and entrepreneurs like me,” Crystal said.
Sydney is “very happy” to be next to her mother, and Crystal is able to complete solid two-hour blocks of work, which add up over the course of her 60 hours. week of work.
“Even being able to put her in the crib for short stays has made a big difference,” she said.
For Crystal, the office represents a modern work-life balance.
“I believe we are in a new era of work, where it is no longer a question of what job you want, but what kind of lifestyle you want,” she said. “For me, it’s extremely important to have workspaces that embrace the messy complications of an imperfect life with a lot of demands.”
Solve the generation problem
Moore and Crystal both use the work and play desk from Workplace, a family-friendly coworking space located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. In addition to offices, the building offers a quiet workspace, a common area for parents to work while children play, and dedicated on-site childcare that can be booked by the hour.
For Crystal, who also has a 4-year-old, the community aspect has been as important as the physical space.
The Viral Desk and Crib helps working parents without childcare be able to work a few hours. Courtesy of Maegan Moore
“Not only do I have a place where kids can be kids and I can be at work, but I also have fellow parents who are working hybrid,” she said. “This is the first time I’ve felt like I’m part of a community of peer parents.”
“It’s refreshing for me,” she added, “and helpful for us to see each other and learn how we all make this work.”
When Moore heard about Workplayce, she thought, “This is amazing. What a great tool to equip working parents. »
Before that, Moore had tried working from home with a babysitter for Eleanor. But living in a small apartment, it was hard “not to look around and see all the tasks and things that need to be done,” which could distract from work, she said.
Now, she typically goes to the coworking space about four times a week, signing Eleanor up for daycare when she has a meeting, call or work that requires deeper focus.
“It’s great to have her nearby and be able to come see her, but when I need a completely separate space, I have the option to do that as well,” Moore said.
This setup more accurately fits the lives of many working parents today, Crystal said.
“There is a unique opportunity for parents to fit work and children into their lives. Decoupling work and children from these arbitrary 9-5 work days or 9-3 daycare days is the first step to create a life that works for you,” she says. “This is a really important question for our generation to answer.”
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