7 ms·

I am wondering why I find it kind of odd that it doesn't have a childcare center.

by timc3 9y ago

strictnein 9y ago
It is rather odd.
- eddieroger 9y ago
  Is it? The large corporation I work for doesn't have an onsite childcare center. Instead we offer discounts for child care elsewhere, near the office, but not in. For a company as private and secretive as Apple, why even expose themselves to the risk of having people walking around a campus that they don't need to be if they can meet the need elsewhere, offsite?
  - strictnein 9y ago
    shrug I've worked at a Fortune 100 HQ with childcare. It was segmented and the kids/workers never entered the main building. Apple will have cleaners, maintenance, food service, etc all over the place. It's not like it'll be a hermetically sealed place.
  - teniutza 9y ago
    I don't work for a big company. Every morning I take my daughter to daycare before going to work. Although not far from where we live (2 km), I still need to drive in the opposite direction. This means an extra ~20 minutes per morning. That's just the trip. Add to it the lack of parking spaces and rapidly decreasing chance of finding one after a certain time point. Not to mention that I need wake up a 3 year old at an unreasonably early hour for any child... Having an on-site childcare center would make a lot of things more simple and pleasant for my entire family.
    - valuearb 9y ago
      Why should the company spend millions a year on a perk you can take advantage of that I can't? And let's not assume you can take advantage of it, given there will be a waiting list. Why do people want a return to the "company town" model just to save a few minutes?
      - gertef 9y ago
        Right, companies should have no perks, because none of them are enjoyed by everyone. This includes healthcare and cafeteria.
      - dxhdr 9y ago
        > Why should the company spend millions a year on a perk you can take advantage of that I can't? You can absolutely take advantage of it, by raising a child.
        valuearb 9y ago
        I have two, but I'm not taking them to my employers childcare. I took them to a good childcare that I picked out competitively. And now they are in school. Company perks shouldn't be enjoyable by only a tiny minority of the company at any one time.
        dismantlethesun 9y ago
        Well that's how all company perks are. Company gyms aren't large enough for literally all their employees to use at once, or even frequently interspaced over a single day. Apart from coffee machines, and maybe food service... no physical location perk is capable of handling the entire staff.
        kbutler 9y ago
        ... but I don't drink coffee, so get rid of the coffee machine!
      - teniutza 9y ago
  - justinator 9y ago
    I think it would be great dog food for Apple. Growing up with Apple II's/II GS's/Macs, the amount of educational software I used was astounding. I think my path to becoming an artist/programmer started while playing with Logo in the 5th grade. Show me how the kids of Apple benefit from this, "Insanely Great" technology.
  - jonknee 9y ago
    > For a company as private and secretive as Apple, why even expose themselves to the risk of having people walking around a campus that they don't need to be if they can meet the need elsewhere, offsite? Yes, those toddlers would probably stumble on Jony Ive's secret development studio! In reality the campus also has "a visitors center with an Apple Store and cafe open to the public". That means full sized adults walking around! https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/02/apple-park-opens-to-employees-in-april/ https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/02/apple-park-opens-to-e...
- gwbas1c 9y ago
  Because most people leave Apple before they have kids
visakanv 9y ago
Children are messy and un-Apple-like. Can you imagine an Apple-themed childcare center? I'm trying to imagine one now, with snooty little kids in black turtlenecks.
MattRogish 9y ago
I was talking with a friend about this, that works at a big SV company that is known for high comp. Why don't they have a child care facility? Surely they can afford it! His response was - paraphrasing - "What happens if someone quits, or is fired? In SV/SF, waits for child care facilities can easily take 6-12 months. If someone is terminated from our company, the last thing we want for them to do is have a crisis about where their children are going to go." I believe they have a stipend, but I'm not sure about that. Of course, I can't say if this is Apple's rationale, but it wouldn't surprise me if that had something to do with it.
- justinator 9y ago
  In the case of firing, are they unable to take care of the child themselves at home? I understand that on-site childcare wouldn't work for everyone, but it could work for some, and be a benefit to them. Other companies DO provide it. There's a on-site cafeteria, correct? Do they worry how people will get lunch if they quit/fired? Reservations in SV/SF can easily take 6-12 months. /s
  - yazan94 9y ago
    > In the case of firing, are they unable to take care of the child themselves at home? Yes, they are unable because that would hinder them from getting another job. > I understand that on-site childcare wouldn't work for everyone, but it could work for some, and be a benefit to them. > Other companies DO provide it. Whats the difference between a daycare at your work or at a separate daycare building?
    - Someone1234 9y ago
      > Whats the difference between a daycare at your work or at a separate daycare building? Lower cost and fewer logistical issues I would imagine. You've just removed a 10~45 minute round trip commute to that separate building. That's twice a day every day, and if the kid gets sick or injured.
      - 9y ago
m0llusk 9y ago
Childcare is competitive and there are already a range of nearby options.
wklauss 9y ago
It's much harder to estimate the demand of a child care center than that of a gym or a cafeteria. Not every employee will become a parent and those who do so will only have one or two children in the lifetime. On top of that, some would prefer an outside child care service, specially if the position has a lot of traveling involved (can your partner or caregiver bring the kid to campus when you are not there?) Even if you decide to do it. ¿How many people should you hire? ¿What happens when the employee is fired or quits? (it's hard to find a daycare center in short time), add insurance, etc... The way most companies solve this is by subsidizing the daycare facility of you're choosing or allowing for remote work some days of the week. It's more efficient. That being said, not sure what the policy at Apple is right now.
- gertef 9y ago
  It's not that hard, (1) as long as the company doesn't promise that all employees get access (just like parking)so demand is always greater than supply, and (2) new children are announced with 6-12 month lead time
  - valuearb 9y ago
    It's so expensive and such a huge distraction, and you can't even offer it to most employees? How is that worth it?
- Markoff 9y ago
  > It's much harder to estimate the demand of a child care center than that of a gym or a cafeteria. Not every employee will become a parent and those who do so will only have one or two children in the lifetime. not every employee (most?) is interested in gym, so why provide gym? you can make survey or research to estimate what size of childcare you will need > On top of that, some would prefer an outside child care service, specially if the position has a lot of traveling involved (can your partner or caregiver bring the kid to campus when you are not there?) Even if you decide to do it. ¿How many people should you hire? ¿What happens when the employee is fired or quits? (it's hard to find a daycare center in short time), add insurance, etc... just put in contract childcare ends same time as contract, simple as that, it's just bullshit excuse not provide option hiding it behind caring about well-being of employee

I am wondering why I find it kind of odd that it doesn't have a childcare center.

by timc3 9y ago

I am wondering why I find it kind of odd that it doesn't have a childcare center.

strictnein 9y ago

It is rather odd.

eddieroger 9y ago
Is it? The large corporation I work for doesn't have an onsite childcare center. Instead we offer discounts for child care elsewhere, near the office, but not in. For a company as private and secretive as Apple, why even expose themselves to the risk of having people walking around a campus that they don't need to be if they can meet the need elsewhere, offsite?
- strictnein 9y ago
  shrug I've worked at a Fortune 100 HQ with childcare. It was segmented and the kids/workers never entered the main building. Apple will have cleaners, maintenance, food service, etc all over the place. It's not like it'll be a hermetically sealed place.
- teniutza 9y ago
  I don't work for a big company. Every morning I take my daughter to daycare before going to work. Although not far from where we live (2 km), I still need to drive in the opposite direction. This means an extra ~20 minutes per morning. That's just the trip. Add to it the lack of parking spaces and rapidly decreasing chance of finding one after a certain time point. Not to mention that I need wake up a 3 year old at an unreasonably early hour for any child... Having an on-site childcare center would make a lot of things more simple and pleasant for my entire family.
  - valuearb 9y ago
    Why should the company spend millions a year on a perk you can take advantage of that I can't? And let's not assume you can take advantage of it, given there will be a waiting list. Why do people want a return to the "company town" model just to save a few minutes?
    - gertef 9y ago
      Right, companies should have no perks, because none of them are enjoyed by everyone. This includes healthcare and cafeteria.
    - dxhdr 9y ago
      > Why should the company spend millions a year on a perk you can take advantage of that I can't? You can absolutely take advantage of it, by raising a child.
      - valuearb 9y ago
        I have two, but I'm not taking them to my employers childcare. I took them to a good childcare that I picked out competitively. And now they are in school. Company perks shouldn't be enjoyable by only a tiny minority of the company at any one time.
        dismantlethesun 9y ago
        Well that's how all company perks are. Company gyms aren't large enough for literally all their employees to use at once, or even frequently interspaced over a single day. Apart from coffee machines, and maybe food service... no physical location perk is capable of handling the entire staff.
        kbutler 9y ago
        ... but I don't drink coffee, so get rid of the coffee machine!
    - teniutza 9y ago
- justinator 9y ago
  I think it would be great dog food for Apple. Growing up with Apple II's/II GS's/Macs, the amount of educational software I used was astounding. I think my path to becoming an artist/programmer started while playing with Logo in the 5th grade. Show me how the kids of Apple benefit from this, "Insanely Great" technology.
- jonknee 9y ago
  > For a company as private and secretive as Apple, why even expose themselves to the risk of having people walking around a campus that they don't need to be if they can meet the need elsewhere, offsite? Yes, those toddlers would probably stumble on Jony Ive's secret development studio! In reality the campus also has "a visitors center with an Apple Store and cafe open to the public". That means full sized adults walking around! https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/02/apple-park-opens-to-employees-in-april/ https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2017/02/apple-park-opens-to-e...
gwbas1c 9y ago
Because most people leave Apple before they have kids

visakanv 9y ago

Children are messy and un-Apple-like. Can you imagine an Apple-themed childcare center? I'm trying to imagine one now, with snooty little kids in black turtlenecks.

MattRogish 9y ago

I was talking with a friend about this, that works at a big SV company that is known for high comp. Why don't they have a child care facility? Surely they can afford it! His response was - paraphrasing - "What happens if someone quits, or is fired? In SV/SF, waits for child care facilities can easily take 6-12 months. If someone is terminated from our company, the last thing we want for them to do is have a crisis about where their children are going to go." I believe they have a stipend, but I'm not sure about that. Of course, I can't say if this is Apple's rationale, but it wouldn't surprise me if that had something to do with it.

justinator 9y ago
In the case of firing, are they unable to take care of the child themselves at home? I understand that on-site childcare wouldn't work for everyone, but it could work for some, and be a benefit to them. Other companies DO provide it. There's a on-site cafeteria, correct? Do they worry how people will get lunch if they quit/fired? Reservations in SV/SF can easily take 6-12 months. /s
- yazan94 9y ago
  > In the case of firing, are they unable to take care of the child themselves at home? Yes, they are unable because that would hinder them from getting another job. > I understand that on-site childcare wouldn't work for everyone, but it could work for some, and be a benefit to them. > Other companies DO provide it. Whats the difference between a daycare at your work or at a separate daycare building?
  - Someone1234 9y ago
    > Whats the difference between a daycare at your work or at a separate daycare building? Lower cost and fewer logistical issues I would imagine. You've just removed a 10~45 minute round trip commute to that separate building. That's twice a day every day, and if the kid gets sick or injured.
    - 9y ago

m0llusk 9y ago

Childcare is competitive and there are already a range of nearby options.

wklauss 9y ago

It's much harder to estimate the demand of a child care center than that of a gym or a cafeteria. Not every employee will become a parent and those who do so will only have one or two children in the lifetime. On top of that, some would prefer an outside child care service, specially if the position has a lot of traveling involved (can your partner or caregiver bring the kid to campus when you are not there?) Even if you decide to do it. ¿How many people should you hire? ¿What happens when the employee is fired or quits? (it's hard to find a daycare center in short time), add insurance, etc... The way most companies solve this is by subsidizing the daycare facility of you're choosing or allowing for remote work some days of the week. It's more efficient. That being said, not sure what the policy at Apple is right now.

gertef 9y ago
It's not that hard, (1) as long as the company doesn't promise that all employees get access (just like parking)so demand is always greater than supply, and (2) new children are announced with 6-12 month lead time
- valuearb 9y ago
  It's so expensive and such a huge distraction, and you can't even offer it to most employees? How is that worth it?
Markoff 9y ago
> It's much harder to estimate the demand of a child care center than that of a gym or a cafeteria. Not every employee will become a parent and those who do so will only have one or two children in the lifetime. not every employee (most?) is interested in gym, so why provide gym? you can make survey or research to estimate what size of childcare you will need > On top of that, some would prefer an outside child care service, specially if the position has a lot of traveling involved (can your partner or caregiver bring the kid to campus when you are not there?) Even if you decide to do it. ¿How many people should you hire? ¿What happens when the employee is fired or quits? (it's hard to find a daycare center in short time), add insurance, etc... just put in contract childcare ends same time as contract, simple as that, it's just bullshit excuse not provide option hiding it behind caring about well-being of employee