New Mom Told By HR That Pumping At Work For Her 4-Month-Old Infant Is 'Unprofessional'

Imagine being a new mom trying to balance your job and the needs of your 4-month-old baby, only to be told by HR that pumping for your infant in the workplace is “unprofessional.” Sounds like a workplace violation, right? 

Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened to one woman who was confronted by the Director of HR for air drying her breast pump accessories on her desk. The new mom's colleague and office mate was so disgusted by the incident that she turned to Reddit to vent.

A new mom was told by HR that the pumping equipment she dries on her desk at work is 'unprofessional.'

In a truly eyebrow-raising turn of events, a new mother was calmly going about her day, pumping breast milk in the privacy of her office (which, mind you, is not customer-facing), when she was pulled aside by the Director of HR. The issue? Her breast pump accessories, including a drying rack and zipped case, were on the corner of her desk. 

Apparently, the mere sight of the pump equipment was just a little too “unprofessional” for the HR rep, who felt the need to address the matter directly with the employee. The new mom's colleague was absolutely enraged for her co-worker that she had to share the story.

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Let’s break it down: We’re talking about an employee who is doing her best to juggle the needs of her baby with her professional responsibilities. Her colleague explained, "Our Director of HR just came into mine and my colleagues office to tell my colleague, who is pumping for her 4 month old baby, that she can’t keep her breast pump materials (i.e. bottle drying rack and zipped pump case on the corner of her desk as it does not make the office professional." She added, "We are not customer facing, we sit in a corner office and I step out for 20 min with my laptop so she can pump. She is letting the bottles she pumps with air dry on the corner of her desk after she washes everything. What is wrong with people?"

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In order to comply with HR, the new mom has to take an hour away from work to pump instead of 20 minutes.

The HR reaction, especially from a female director, left the co-workers scratching their heads. She wrote, "We do have a pumping room at our facility but it was easier for her to just stay at her desk, work and pump while I left. 20 min. Now she has to walk to the pumping room, on the other side of the facility." In the comment section she added, "she pumped in the room once today and it took her almost an hour to walk over, pump, come back and put everything away."

Talk about the tail chasing the dog. No one but these two women ever see the pumping equipment, and now a 20-minute task takes over an hour. How is this productive? As one commenter astutely noted, "I mean now she has an excuse to take a break without anybody being able to [complain]. Good for her, go have some time to herself lol. That’s actually pretty funny, I woulda thought HR would be happy she’s not taking unscheduled breaks."

According to a survey by America Online and Salary.com, the average employee wastes 1.86 hours in an eight-hour workday doing non-work-related tasks. Translation: The average employee wastes nearly 2 hours a day online shopping, reading social media posts, chatting with co-workers, and even running off-site errands, according to the survey. The survey estimated that wasted time has an average loss of nearly $4K per employee each year. Moreso the higher the salary. 

You'd think HR would be happy that the new mom wanted to be more efficient with her time! Their thinking is completely backwards, and it's only natural to assume they are trying to make her job as unpleasant as possible in the hopes that she quits.

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HR's complaint is not illegal, but it is problematic.

This incident isn’t just about one mom pumping breast milk at her desk; it highlights a much larger issue that working mothers face when trying to balance their professional lives with their family obligations. In a world where work-life balance is increasingly touted as essential, companies need to rethink how they accommodate the realities of parenting.

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This company has a pumping room, and they are not objecting to the mom taking breaks to pump. That means their complaint does not violate the Fair Labor Standards Act. By complaining about the pumping equipment, they are not violating the law. What they are doing is making a mother uncomfortable in the workplace.

From awkward HR conversations to uncomfortable judgments, the treatment of this mother is part of a broader issue of workplace flexibility. Many companies still fail to offer the kind of support that allows employees to meet both their career goals and their personal needs. What that ultimately means is that employers don't value working moms in the same way they value men or child-free employees. Being a parent and a professional is already hard enough without feeling like you’re being penalized for doing both.

RELATED: Nursing Mother Says Her Co-Workers Are Annoyed By Her 'Pumping Breaks' — 'No One Bats An Eye When They Take Smoke Breaks'

Erika Ryan is a writer working on her bachelor's degree in Journalism. She is based in Florida and covers relationships, psychology, self-help, and human interest topics.