Ted Swanson liked to think of himself as a progressive, family-friendly kind of guy. Consequently, he couldn’t quite believe the words coming out of his mouth, directed at Bryan Papis, his boss and owner of the creative media company ZeusAd. “Bryan, that baby is driving me crazy!

The cooing, laughing, and crying are one thing, but some of the creative team and support staff make such a fuss over him that it drives me to distraction. I had a client in here yesterday who didn’t know what to make of the whole thing. This just isn’t professional.”

The four-month-old baby to whom Ted was referring belonged to Glenda Fox, one of the cleverer creative types in the company. Although she was eligible for extended maternity leave, she had chosen not to take it. She said she didn’t want to “get out of the loop” or let her current project team down. These motives, and Glenda’s espoused beliefs in “attachment parenting” had led her to bring her new baby to work on a fairly regular basis, except when her husband could occasionally provide care.

A number of news stories have appeared suggesting that babies in the workplace are a source of considerable interpersonal conflict. What are some likely reasons for this?