Tech giant IBM has just made working easier for its employee moms as the company rolls the first-ever breastmilk shipping service for traveling working moms.
The program is set to be implemented within the company domestically, according to CNN Money. But the benefit is being planned to benefit all of its 400,000 employees in 175 countries around the world.
The move is a huge help for employees, who are also breastfeeding moms, especially since they are faced with challenges of feeding the baby constantly. As it is, some mothers opt out of business trips until their babies are old enough for weaning; thus, missing opportunities to progress at work.
In addition to this, Transportation Security Administration agents at the airport are known to confiscate breastmilk from moms who exceed the limit. Currently, only 3.4 ounces of liquid is allowed in the carry-on bag, but some mothers pump more milk than this, so a lot of it is often wasted when the agents order the moms to leave them behind.
The idea of a shipping service came to light after working mothers raised their concerns about it in a focus group. The details of the program have yet to be ironed out, but IBM wants the service to make use of a smartphone app, similar to NanoCool, which offers the delivery of temperature-controlled packages.
The employee only need to indicate in the app where she will be accommodated during her business trip and confirm how many packages she intends to send. Pre-addressed containers in shipping packages will be by the hotel when she arrives, and once this has been filled out with breastmilk, the packages will be immediately be shipped overnight back to their families.
All these will be at the expense of IBM. "The concerns about cost are [nothing] compared to our drive to help our working moms," said Carrie Altieri, the spokeswoman for IBM in the CNN Money report.
The company has no idea if this will be taken advantage by its employees. But Barbara Brickmeier, Vice President of Benefits at IBM, said via Huffington Post, "As long as there is one mother who finds this beneficial, I don't have any threshold of usage of whether we continue the program or not."
Some companies is already doing a similar gesture, according to a list compiled by Working Mother Magazine. However, in this instance, it's the employees who facilitate everything and the companies just reimburse them for the expenses.
IBM is taking it one step further, organizing everything for its working moms. "To think beyond just allowing the expense, but to make it easy and seamless to be done—that's really commendable," said Jennifer Owens, the editorial director of Working Mother Magazine, according to Washington Post.
