Our Mission
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Empathy & Care
From the start, our work has been guided by a genuine care for others and a deep understanding of their needs. Our selfless approach builds trust, fosters reliability, and creates meaningful connections.
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Top-tier Quality
We hold ourselves to the highest standards and never cut corners. Every day we strive to deliver solutions and services that meet and exceed our customers’ expectations.
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Compliance & Expertise
Staying informed about the ever-evolving workplace compliance laws is essential for helping our customers navigate complex rules and regulations.
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Innovation & Adaptability
Continuous improvement and innovation are in our DNA. If the pandemic taught us anything, it’s that we must listen, learn, and adapt to the needs and wants of our modern audiences.
Our Founders
Jules Lairson
Co-Founder & COOJules Lairson is the Co-Founder and COO of Work&, a proptech company redefining how workplace wellness infrastructure is designed, accessed, and operated. She leads the company’s strategy, operations, and enterprise partnerships, working with top-tier organizations including McKesson, Anthropic, Nuveen, Vornado, and Columbia REIT.
With a background in commercial real estate development, Jules brings a unique ability to connect the needs of landlords, tenants, and enterprise teams translating them into scalable, high-impact solutions for the modern workforce. Under her leadership, Work& has expanded coast-to-coast, helping organizations deliver compliant, high-performing wellness spaces that improve both employee experience and operational outcomes. While at work, her passion is connecting the right people, ideas, and opportunities.
Abbey Donnell
Co-Founder & CEOAbbey Donnell is the Founder and CEO of Work&, a platform that helps employers modernize support for working parents, caregivers, and employee wellbeing at scale. Work& partners with enterprise employers and landlords to operationalize compliant wellness programs, reducing HR burden while driving retention and return-to-office outcomes.
Prior to founding Work&, Abbey built her career in marketing and brand strategy. She holds a BS and BA in Advertising and Spanish from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and an MBA from Rice University. Abbey is also a working mother herself, bringing direct, lived experience to the problems Work& is built to solve.
Press Highlights
“Workplace Wellbeing Is Moving From Programs To Infrastructure” By Geri Stengel, Forbes
“Women's Health AI Outperforms VC's Own Benchmarks—Yet The Funding Gap Persists” By Geri Stengel, Forbes
“This startup is making breastfeeding suites a standard office amenity, finally” B Elizabeth Segran, Fast Company
“Houston femtech co. debuts new lactation and wellness pods” By Laura Furr Mericas, InnovationMap
“Work & Mother rebrands to showcase new wellness offerings for workplaces” By Jeff Jeffrey, Houston Business Journal
“Where Parenthood, Wellness, and Work Converge: The Story of Work&”CarterHouse Copy
What People Are “Saying”
“I wouldn't have been able to return to work in the capacity I have if not for W&M. Thinking about going into an office without this space while trying to continue my breastfeeding journey is unimaginable. I feel incredibly supported by my company and W&M.”
Employee | Canva
“We’ve had so many women on the tours who have said they would have LOVED a space like ours when they were nursing and working and the brokers who have toured the space have all been very impressed with it as an amenity. Our Leasing team is certainly proud of it and makes an effort to include it on every tour.”
Cortney Haney | Property Management | Cushman Wakefield
“This is the type of amenity that really draws people to the campus, and it can help our tenants retain and attract new employees.”
Skylar Huth | Asset Management Director | Nuveen Real Estate
"We ensure the new employees who work in this office are aware of your facility and what you provide. This is a great program and we want our employees to take advantage of it."
HR Manager | Onit
"At Hines, we are committed to continuously raising the bar for our clients. Our goal is to create magnetic spaces where people feel valued, connected and inspired. Not only does that drive value for employers, landlords, and investors, but it’s the right thing to do. Having Work& onsite isn’t just an amenity, it’s a necessity to support mothers and holistic wellness in the workforce."
Whitney Burns | Senior Vice President | Hines
“The transition from maternity leave back to the office is very difficult and emotional – so much so that I almost didn’t return to work at all. W&M made it not just possible but pleasant.”
Employee | SeaOne
Work& History
A Missing Link in Workplace Wellness
While pursuing her MBA at Rice University, Abbey Donnell, CEO and founder of Work& (formerly Work & Mother), identified a common challenge among her colleagues and friends: the lack of adequate support for breastfeeding mothers returning to work. Even in workplaces with supportive cultures, the necessary physical infrastructure for nursing mothers was often missing, leaving a critical gap in workplace wellness.
A Vision for Shared Solutions
Motivated by these observations and her own aspirations of motherhood, Abbey envisioned a solution that would seamlessly integrate into the modern office environment. Recognizing that individual employers might not have the expertise or resources to address this need effectively, she proposed a shared amenity model. This approach would allow multiple tenants within a commercial building to access high-quality lactation facilities without the burden of individual management.
From Idea to Impact
In 2018, Abbey launched Work&Mother, introducing professional lactation suites designed to meet the needs of working mothers. These suites offered private, fully equipped spaces, including hospital-grade pumps and essential supplies, to ensure a comfortable and efficient experience. By collaborating with landlords and employers, Work&Mother helped clients comply with legal requirements and foster a more inclusive and supportive workplace culture.