KDOT’s “Infant at Work” program reaches important milestone

By Mallory Goeke

KDOT Communications Specialist 

Bringing a child to work may not be the first thing that comes to mind when a new baby is born, but for KDOT employees, this is an option they have for the first 150 days of their child’s life. 

KDOT began participating in the “Infant at Work” program in 2001. At that time, it was only a pilot project that was under evaluation to determine if it would be feasible to continue.

There are several steps and conditions parents must agree to before their child can come to work.

According to KDOT’s Policy, only parents or grandparents of the child may bring the infant to work. The infant must stay in their parent’s work area for the workday. There must be at least two other KDOT employees who can volunteer to help take over in case the parent has a meeting. 

To help support parents, there are sitting rooms available when babies need to be fed or soothed.

Time Flies! Kelly Broxterman and her twins were the first to participate in the Infants at Work program at KDOT in 2001.

Kelly Broxterman, KDOT’s Grant and Fiscal Coordinator, and her twin sons, Colton and Justin, were the first participants in the program.  In an article from a 2001 issue of the agency’s newsletter, Translines, Broxterman said that she thought the program was a positive experience and provided important information to help build the program.

 Eighteen years later, an additional 114 babies have been able to start their lives out at work with their parents. Justin and Colton are now graduating high school!

Justin and Colton Broxterman were the first babies to participate in the Infant at work program.
They are now graduating high school this weekend.

In retrospect, Broxterman said that the program was a great way to balance work and family. 

“It gave me the ability to return to work quicker and the opportunity to spend time bonding with the boys,” Broxterman said. “As a new parent at the time, having the boys go to work with me was very comforting. They slept quite a bit every day, so I was able to get my work done but could look over and see they were okay.”

KDOT’s Bureau Chief of Personal Services, Denise Schwab said that a lot has changed since the program’s inception. 

“More people are interested now,” Schwab said.  “More senior managers and supervisors are more comfortable with the program and there are more mothers and fathers who are interested. I think it’s really cool that fathers are involved, they often split duties with their spouse.”

Schwab said that in the early development of the program, there was a bit of anxiety that having infants at work would interrupt work flow, but as time has gone by attitudes are changing. Schwab said that hearing the happy sounds that a baby makes can increase office morale.

“There’s a real human side to having an infant at work,” Schwab said. “They bring a lot of joy to the office place, and they are fun to have around.”

There are mutual benefits for both KDOT and the employees who participate in the program.

“One of the positive feedbacks that we receive is how much quicker employees can come back to work,” Schwab said. “Instead of having a vacant seat they are able to come back sooner and be productive.”

According to Schwab there are only a handful of other state DOTs that allow infants in the workplace. She said she has been able to use KDOT as an example when she discusses this program with other agencies.