Parents of small children - how are you managing RTO?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are people living that have 2 hour commutes each way? When my kids were in school, we lived near Olney and I left home at 6:15. Dropped off kids at morning care in Bethesda around 7, in office by 7:30-7:45. Left work at 4:30 and picked up at 5:15 or so. Sports practices were generally around 5:30pm or so because the coaches were working parents with in-office jobs. I did that schedule 5 days a week for years.

Would you like a medal for your accomplishments???

I think you're the one that wants a medal for NOT showing up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a fed and have been in the office the whole time. My spouse doesn't work because it isn't possible to do drop off/pick up and get the kids where they needed to be with her being in an Office.

I despised telework feds who would always tell me their "teleworking" at school pick up or when they're at my son's baseball practice at 4 pm when I just took an hour of leave so I could be there on time.

We all know people were watching their kids on telework and doing things other than working. So glad it is over and people are being held accountable.

I remember having a rough commute and day in the office and my friend made a comment like "you choose an in person job". I get a kick out of telling these people who now have an 1.5 hour commute "you choose this job, enjoy it".

Where do you work that was in person the entire time? And why don’t you know the past tense of the verb “choose”?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unless you worked at a company that outright banned telework and required you be on site 42.5 hours per week, monitored by badging out with time cards that are a felony to misrepresent on, I don’t want to hear how you managed pre covid. Jesus christ, people. Your quite cushy lives in 2019 are not comparable in this situation. Not at all.

I did exactly as you describe except it was closer to 48 hours a week. So did all of my GenX peers in our 30s/early 40s working at DoJ from 1997-2014. Telework was not a thing, or remote or bizarre flex scheduling that allows people to leave at 1 or 2.

And no, there emphatically was not adequate childcare slots in the District or close-in Arlington, Bethesda or SS. A lot of panicky scrambling for daycare and subpar nannies and nanny shares were the norm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are people living that have 2 hour commutes each way? When my kids were in school, we lived near Olney and I left home at 6:15. Dropped off kids at morning care in Bethesda around 7, in office by 7:30-7:45. Left work at 4:30 and picked up at 5:15 or so. Sports practices were generally around 5:30pm or so because the coaches were working parents with in-office jobs. I did that schedule 5 days a week for years.

Frederick. No, I don't have a McMansion. We live here to be down the street from my spouse's job, after a few years of living closer to mine. I got tired of commuting and searched for a fully remote job a couple years ago, joke's on me.

Gosh, I do feel for you to have to hike in from Frederick. Hindsight being 20/20 and all, but DH would have had a reverse commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should manage childcare for RTO the same way you manage it for WFH. You are not supposed to be dropping off and picking up on the clock. Nor are you supposed to be caring for your kids at home. You were supposed to have a childcare plan this whole time. WFH is not your childcare plan. Why are you just now trying to figure it out.

This. I’m really aghast that so many people were cheating the system!

So many idiots on this thread.
Do you really not comprehend how adding 3-4 hours of commute time to a full work schedule makes most childcare arrangements unworkable? Because that is what some of us are up against.

I agree that anyone who is WFH with small children and no childcare is an egregious offense, but where is the evidence this was happening in significant numbers? Why should everyone else have to suffer because of the abuse by a few?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a fed and have been in the office the whole time. My spouse doesn't work because it isn't possible to do drop off/pick up and get the kids where they needed to be with her being in an Office.

I despised telework feds who would always tell me their "teleworking" at school pick up or when they're at my son's baseball practice at 4 pm when I just took an hour of leave so I could be there on time.

We all know people were watching their kids on telework and doing things other than working. So glad it is over and people are being held accountable.

I remember having a rough commute and day in the office and my friend made a comment like "you choose an in person job". I get a kick out of telling these people who now have an 1.5 hour commute "you choose this job, enjoy it".

Where do you work that was in person the entire time? And why don’t you know the past tense of the verb “choose”?

Not the PP, but I'm a nurse manager and that's technically an "office" job but it's not a job that you can do remote. My hours are Mon-Fri 8 - 4:30 or 5. I split the evening, night, and weekend on-call time with the other nurse managers in my service line. There's a lot of things that touch people that require one to show up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a fed and have been in the office the whole time. My spouse doesn't work because it isn't possible to do drop off/pick up and get the kids where they needed to be with her being in an Office.

I despised telework feds who would always tell me their "teleworking" at school pick up or when they're at my son's baseball practice at 4 pm when I just took an hour of leave so I could be there on time.

We all know people were watching their kids on telework and doing things other than working. So glad it is over and people are being held accountable.

I remember having a rough commute and day in the office and my friend made a comment like "you choose an in person job". I get a kick out of telling these people who now have an 1.5 hour commute "you choose this job, enjoy it".

Where do you work that was in person the entire time? And why don’t you know the past tense of the verb “choose”?

Not the PP, but I'm a nurse manager and that's technically an "office" job but it's not a job that you can do remote. My hours are Mon-Fri 8 - 4:30 or 5. I split the evening, night, and weekend on-call time with the other nurse managers in my service line. There's a lot of things that touch people that require one to show up.

PP said they were a fed, which is why I asked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:you pay for childcare like everyone else before covid

There are so many bitter people here. Before Covid I was able to telework two days a week. So could my husband. Now he has to return to the office full time and I probably will too (haven’t heard from my agency yet). So no it’s not like before covid. My commute is an hour long and his is an hour and 20 minutes long one way. We live right next to the metro but they moved my husband’s office so now it’s just much further. That’s two hours a day commuting for me and almost 3 hrs for him. In that time we can make dinner, do the laundry etc. We are both in litigation so our jobs are actually stressful and don’t have much time during the day. But those two hours that I save mean everything. Also my eldest two are in elementary school and extended day is completely full. There is a waitlist to get in. I pick them up from the bus stop at 3 pm and bring them home. Since they are in 3rd and 4th grade they are self sufficient and even set the table for dinner and make the salad. Since we are a bilingual family, a tutor comes at 3:30 three days a week to tutor them in my native language. My youngest who is three is at daycare and my husband picks her up at 5:30 while I prep dinner. It’s tough having three kids but telework makes it much it much easier. Sure I can find childcare but it’s not easy. Who would want to work for two hours only? And it’s not cheap. And when would I find the time to cook? Republicans pretend to care about families but people don’t have kids or as many kids as they want because it’s so hard to balance working with having a family. Our school calls us and tells us to pick the kids up for every sniffle. What happens now? I would have to leave work (takes an hour) pick them up and drive them home. All that time wasted when I could have just driven 5 minutes and gone right back to work. Since my work has so many deadlines I will have to make up for the lost time in the evening. How do I balance that with spending time with my kids, making dinner, giving my 3 year old a bath? Cleaning up…. The entire thing is insane and people like PP who want us all to suffer are just disgusting. Society is going to have to resolve this issue. How do people have kids while two spouses are working full time? Republicans have the answer to that. They want women to stay at home. That’s what may end up happening because many of us may just have no choice. I’m sure PP will be celebrating

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a fed and have been in the office the whole time. My spouse doesn't work because it isn't possible to do drop off/pick up and get the kids where they needed to be with her being in an Office.

I despised telework feds who would always tell me their "teleworking" at school pick up or when they're at my son's baseball practice at 4 pm when I just took an hour of leave so I could be there on time.

We all know people were watching their kids on telework and doing things other than working. So glad it is over and people are being held accountable.

I remember having a rough commute and day in the office and my friend made a comment like "you choose an in person job". I get a kick out of telling these people who now have an 1.5 hour commute "you choose this job, enjoy it".

Sounds like you need new friends or a new job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should manage childcare for RTO the same way you manage it for WFH. You are not supposed to be dropping off and picking up on the clock. Nor are you supposed to be caring for your kids at home. You were supposed to have a childcare plan this whole time. WFH is not your childcare plan. Why are you just now trying to figure it out.

This. I’m really aghast that so many people were cheating the system!

How were they cheating the system?

its illegal (in the case of govt related jobs or contracting) to perform childcare duties and bill hours. It's against most company policies to do the same.

+1 Even if your employer doesn't have a policy against this, I really don't have sympathy for people who are getting paid for a full time job but don't have full time child care for their young children
- working parent of a young child

Misery loves company is not a valid argument. It's just not. You want everyone to suffer like you instead of everyone to have a better work/life balance. I feel sorry for you that you're such a miserable person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you worked at a company that outright banned telework and required you be on site 42.5 hours per week, monitored by badging out with time cards that are a felony to misrepresent on, I don’t want to hear how you managed pre covid. Jesus christ, people. Your quite cushy lives in 2019 are not comparable in this situation. Not at all.

Every defense contractor requires badging in and out. Nothing was cushy and nothing is new or harder for you. Timecards are as old as time. Get over your stupid self.

This! My work checked all of those boxes pre, during and post Covid. And speaking of cushy, a friend who works for the FDA and is worried about losing her job/bemoaning RTO in March told me last night at our kids' basketball practice (that I practically killed myself to get home in time to get to) that today is her Friday since she "works" remote tomorrow.

This doesn’t even make sense?! What does her “Friday” even mean. Why are you upset she has managed to find a job that allows her work/life balance.

Because as a taxpayer, I (NP) shouldn’t pay for her individual luxury of “balance.” I and apparently millions of others would prefer to pay her a part-time salary and no federal benefits — because she is in fact working part time.

Whether she wants to be all-in and miss games or lean out and watch basketball doesn’t matter to me. Her fraudulence is the problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a fed and have been in the office the whole time. My spouse doesn't work because it isn't possible to do drop off/pick up and get the kids where they needed to be with her being in an Office.

I despised telework feds who would always tell me their "teleworking" at school pick up or when they're at my son's baseball practice at 4 pm when I just took an hour of leave so I could be there on time.

We all know people were watching their kids on telework and doing things other than working. So glad it is over and people are being held accountable.

I remember having a rough commute and day in the office and my friend made a comment like "you choose an in person job". I get a kick out of telling these people who now have an 1.5 hour commute "you choose this job, enjoy it".

You don't know sh--. I was able to TW and have a maxi-flex schedule that allowed me to work my hours anytime between 5 a.m. and midnight. How arrogant that you think that you everyone's schedule. And how despicable that you are gloating at people's lives being upended. You're a nasty POS. Period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Unless you worked at a company that outright banned telework and required you be on site 42.5 hours per week, monitored by badging out with time cards that are a felony to misrepresent on, I don’t want to hear how you managed pre covid. Jesus christ, people. Your quite cushy lives in 2019 are not comparable in this situation. Not at all.

Every defense contractor requires badging in and out. Nothing was cushy and nothing is new or harder for you. Timecards are as old as time. Get over your stupid self.

This! My work checked all of those boxes pre, during and post Covid. And speaking of cushy, a friend who works for the FDA and is worried about losing her job/bemoaning RTO in March told me last night at our kids' basketball practice (that I practically killed myself to get home in time to get to) that today is her Friday since she "works" remote tomorrow.

This doesn’t even make sense?! What does her “Friday” even mean. Why are you upset she has managed to find a job that allows her work/life balance.

Because as a taxpayer, I (NP) shouldn’t pay for her individual luxury of “balance.” I and apparently millions of others would prefer to pay her a part-time salary and no federal benefits — because she is in fact working part time.

Whether she wants to be all-in and miss games or lean out and watch basketball doesn’t matter to me. Her fraudulence is the problem.

How about showing some evidence that this is a widespread problem. Anecdotes do not count.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a fed and have been in the office the whole time. My spouse doesn't work because it isn't possible to do drop off/pick up and get the kids where they needed to be with her being in an Office.

I despised telework feds who would always tell me their "teleworking" at school pick up or when they're at my son's baseball practice at 4 pm when I just took an hour of leave so I could be there on time.

We all know people were watching their kids on telework and doing things other than working. So glad it is over and people are being held accountable.

I remember having a rough commute and day in the office and my friend made a comment like "you choose an in person job". I get a kick out of telling these people who now have an 1.5 hour commute "you choose this job, enjoy it".

Where do you work that was in person the entire time? And why don’t you know the past tense of the verb “choose”?

I don’t know this guy but there are TONS of positions in the DMV that require a clearance and cannot be remote/telework. Also almost all healthcare jobs, ranging from an xray tech to neurosurgeon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I cannot believe how many moms think oh well I had it tough so other moms should too. I had a very toxic job at one point— I would Never want someone else to have that job. I want things to IMPROVE.

Yeah some disgusting people on this thread