哪家公司是科技行业超级奶妈？

    Facebook近期宣布斥资1.2亿美元，在位于门罗帕克的总部周边兴建一片住宅区，其中将包括价格实惠的员工住房，以及各种福利设施，比如酒吧、便利店、自行车维修点、美发服务等，甚至还有宠物日间看护。但其中却惟独缺少了一项福利：儿童日托。

    这家科技巨头并不属于少数派。旧金山湾区的公司通常会规划宽阔的办公室，提供健身房、厨房、游戏室和其他丰厚的福利，以吸引和留住最优秀的人才。但这些公司很少会将公司内部托儿所作为一项福利。据2012年全国雇主研究统计，仅有7%的美国公司向员工提供公司内部托儿所服务，这个比例与2005年基本持平。而《财富》（Fortune）最适宜工作的公司（Best Companies to Work For）中，约有三分之一会向父母级员工提供便利。

    Facebook和当地开发商St. Anton Partners根据具有代表性的员工所提供的反馈，设计了这个拥有394个单元的项目，目前正在由St. Anton负责施工，而Facebook只会为预留的15个单元提供补贴，以满足州政府关于经适房的要求。

    虽然没有提供儿童看护服务，但Facebook的一位女发言人表示，公司为父母提供了其他福利。Facebook为生孩子或收养孩子的夫妇提供4,000美元“婴儿基金”，而且公司为所有员工提供长达四个月的产假和陪产假。她并未透露公司未来是否会将儿童看护作为公司福利的一部分。她说：“我们提供了大量的福利，让员工生活得更好，我们会持续评估新福利的价值。”

    鲍登学院（Bowdoin College）的经济学教授以及《带着孩子上班：公司提供日托福利的价值》（ Kids at Work: The Value of Employer-Sponsored On-Site Child Care Centers）一书的联合作者蕾切尔•康纳利说，虽然有许多公司发现，公司内部托儿所服务可以提高员工工作效率，降低缺勤情况，进而节省成本，但这项服务却并未引起人力资源部门的重视——尤其是在就业市场疲软的情况下。

    据专门跟踪建筑统计数据的里德建筑数据公司（Reed Construction Data）统计，占地10,000平方英尺的托儿所可以容纳100个孩子，建设成本约在170万美元至200万美元之间。珍妮弗•萨巴蒂尼•弗劳恩表示，除此之外，还有其他挑战，比如各州的法律法规、责任风险和运营成本。弗劳恩是波士顿学院工作与家庭中心（Boston College Center for Work & Family）副主任，该中心主要研究工作生活平衡问题。

    她说：“相比聘请几位保姆，开办托儿所要复杂得多。很难找出一个可靠的商业案例，因为它的投资回报率通常都非常模糊。”

    许多公司会将这项工作外包给专业的托儿所。康纳利认为，即便如此，如果一家公司的日托服务不足以满足员工的需求，可能会打击员工的积极性。她说：“所以，要么就‘做大’，要么就别做。许多公司都选择了后者。”

    弗劳恩表示，许多公司会提供独立看护援助计划，比如用税前资金帮助父母支付儿童看护费用，或者推荐服务提供商，比如Care.com等，可以帮助父母找到提前筛选的看护服务提供商。

    Facebook's recently announced plans for a sprawling $120 million housing community near its Menlo Park campus will include affordable employee homes and a laundry list of amenities like a pub, convenience store, bicycle repair shop, hair stylist -- even a doggy day care. One perk missing from that list: daycare for kids.

    The tech giant is not in the minority. Bay Area companies often plan expansive offices with gyms, kitchens, game rooms, and other lavish perks to attract and retain the brightest workers. But onsite child care centers rarely make the list of amenities. Only 7% of companies nationwide offer on-site daycare to employees, according to a 2012 National Study of Employers, a percentage that has stayed held since 2005. Meanwhile about one-third of Fortune's Best Companies to Work For list offer the convenience to parents with young kids.

    Facebook (FB) and local developer St. Anton Partners designed the 394-unit housing project with feedback from employees in focus groups. St. Anton is building the project, while Facebook will subsidize just 15 units set aside for employees to meet state requirements for affordable housing.

    Despite the lack of child care, a Facebook spokeswoman says the company offers plenty of other cushy perks to parents. Couples who give birth or adopt get $4,000 in "baby cash," and the company also gives generous four-month maternity and paternity leave to all employees. She would not say whether child care is a benefit planned for the future. "We offer a number of benefits to make our employees' lives better, and we are constantly evaluating potential new offerings," she says.

    While some companies have found cost savings with improved productivity and lower absenteeism, on-site child care does not typically hit the top of the HR agenda -- especially in a weak labor market, says Rachel Connelly, a Bowdoin College economics professor and co-author of the book, Kids at Work: The Value of Employer-Sponsored On-Site Child Care Centers.

    There's the cost: A 10,000-square-foot on-site center that can handle 100 kids might cost $1.7 million to $2 million to build, according to Reed Construction Data, which tracks building statistics. Then there's the added challenge of state regulations, liability risks, and operational costs, says Jennifer Sabatini Fraone, associate director of the Boston College Center for Work & Family, which studies work life balance issues.

    "It's more complicated than hiring a few babysitters," she says. "It's difficult to develop a sound business case for them because the ROI often can be nebulous."

    Many companies outsource the job to professional daycare centers. But even so, if a company's daycare doesn't have enough spots to fill employee demand, it can frustrate workers, adds Connelly. "So it's either 'go big' or nothing," says Connelly, "and a lot of them choose nothing."

    Instead, says Fraone, many companies offer dependent care assistance plans that help parents pay for child care with pre-tax dollars or access to referral services like Care.com, which helps parents find pre-screened providers.