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.

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.”