Allow me to start this series with our very own mom's room at work.
Globe Telecom's headquarters in Bonifacio Global City bagged the 2018 Best Workplace in Asia Award—and rightfully so quite honestly. I say this without bias (okay, maybe just a little bit) as I've been working here since 2014. Just to give you a bit of hint about what it's like working there: everything's spacious which gives you a sense of serenity in a way since it doesn't feel cramped and pressured. The vibe is light and very professional at the same time. It's so easy to feel at home as everything's put together aesthetically like top management really intended to make employees feel comfortable but productive at the same time. But after giving birth to my firstborn in 2017, my love for this place is on a whole new level as it not only allowed me to carry on with my career, but it also supported one of my biggest advocacies as a mom: Breastfeeding.
The first question I had for my colleagues who've had babies before me was whether our office had a lactation room. The 2018 Best Workplace in Asia Awardee didn't fail me. Back then, Globe Telecom's mom's room only had 2 cubicles separated by curtains where 2 mamas can share one enclosed space with 2 couches and tables, and another mama can enjoy the other cube in solitude. Later in 2018, the mom's room was renovated to have 4 separate cubicles with individual tables, chairs, and electric outlets (pictured in the banner).
Separate cubes mean alone space to eat burgers and watch Netflix while pumping.
I love the fact that moms now get 4 separate cubes so we can all pump with privacy compared before when 2 moms had to share 1 big cube - really no biggie, but I mean, sometimes our pumping breaks at work are really the only alone and quiet time we get in our day, so this is actually important. The desk space is just enough to hold breast pumps, bags, and snacks. And the outlet per station actually has 2 sockets. The chairs in the cubicles may not exactly be laz-y-boys, but they're comfortable enough for a 30-45 minute pumping break.
Employees are gifted with comfortable and well-kept amenities.
The fact that it has more than the basic necessities we need for a lactation room is the thing I love most about it. It has a spacious counter where moms can actually leave their pump bags. Most of us would rather leave our pump bags there to save space in our already cluttered desks. There's also a 2-door fridge big enough to store moms' milk, ice packs, and pump parts (when we're too lazy to wash them lol). And I swear when you open that fridge, it's just purely milk bags, bottles, and ice packs there. The room also has a sink with liquid soap and paper towel that never run out 😁 Lastly, there are also lounge chairs in front of the cubes for when moms need to wait for their turn to use the cubicles whenever the room goes blockbuster. There's also active housekeeping personnel cleaning and keeping the mom's room orderly round the clock.
Access to shared comfort room with the office clinic.
If there's anything particular I'll keep boasting about Globe's facilities, it's the clean and hotel-grade comfort rooms. Yep. And I think it's not a complete lactation/breastfeeding facility if it doesn't have access to a clean comfort room. This is definitely a plus, but the thing is, this specific CR is shared with the adjacent office clinic so moms always had to make sure both of the doors (one connected to mom's room and the other one to the clinic) are locked before they sit on the throne 🤭 The CR is well-maintained though as with all other comfort rooms in the building.
It's exclusive to employees.
I've never been to other office's mom's rooms, but I guess that's the thing about corporate lactation areas—they're exclusive to employees. For Globe's mom's room in particular though, I've never seen a mommy breastfeed a baby there but I'm pretty sure that's allowed (the place actually has little toy duckies on the counter, which I guess are for babies, cos who else would it be for). However, the area is STRICTLY for moms. Even the housekeeping personnel who maintain it are all women.
I've been head-on committed to exclusively breastfeeding my baby since the beginning. And ever since I started breastfeeding, I've always appreciated comfortable and well-kept breastfeeding rooms because these facilities really help make breastfeeding easier in this day and age. As mentioned in my previous articles, while I was determined to breastfeed from the start, I never really expected to do it this long. And I am thankful everyday that I was able to exclusively breastfeed Mason for more than a year. And I should just say that being part of an organization that offers a safe, comfortable, and sanitized lactation room is a huge factor at how I was able to go this far in my breastfeeding journey.
Just for clarity, Globe Telecom has several offices in Manila. This lactation room in particular is the one in the company's headquarters in Bonifacio Global City where I work.
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