Be honest. Who worked from home while also having their DC their over Easter hols?

[Whatsgoingonwithmyhead]

Less of DC’s classmates at camps and a lot of the parents very vague about their plans.

Just wondering how common it is for people to WFH whilst also looking after their kids in the school hols these days ?

Did you do this? How old are your DC and did you get a proper days work done?

I used a mixture of camps & grandparents. Appreciate I’m fortunate to have local, helpful grandparents and I earn enough to pay for camps. I also took some annual leave. My DC is 5 and super active so no way could I work with her there!

Just interested. Not judging anyone. School holidays are long, money is tight and not everyone has family help so appreciate covering school holidays is a huge headache for lots of families

Edited to say I note the typo in the title before someone leaps on me about it!

I have to do bits and bobs around my son as he is autistic and there are no camps for high needs kids. I have own business so I'm not employed but I often have to work with him there. No local grandparents. Husband works full time. It's just us with my son 24/7

My daughter is 10 and still I rarely do this. I feel guilty because she’d spend the day on screens and my work needs a good level of concentration and I’d be distracted etc. I try and avoid it at all costs. Even if I’m wfh and DH is off at home with her I never get anything done so I usually head to the office or a cafe. Learned through quite a bit of frustrating experience!

No, it really isn't and shouldn't be normal if you have younger kids. You are neither parenting properly, nor working properly.
Pre-COVID, it was all part of the decision making process for most families about the affordability of both parents working. Then, we all found ourselves being forced into home working, whilst also home educating and entertaining our children. A lot of people seem to have used this as a way to save money on holiday clubs and childcare by never going back to either the office or using paid for support. It is taking the piss out of your employer, quite frankly.

My kids are older now, and my job has always been WFH, but I would never have tried to skimp holiday club costs. I am meant to be working, not providing childcare. It might work with some jobs, definitely not mine.

Does his employer know he is doing this?

Because most companies (and certainly CS) actively forbids parents from having children around when WFH.

I suspect a huge number do though.

Again another perk of WFH that nurses, HCAs, retail assistants, waitresses, waiters, care home staff, receptionists, dental nurses don't have access to.

Freelance, so I don’t have 9 to 5 hours, but most of my clients do. Child is 4, and we did a mixture of days out & staying in (with me on the laptop, him playing or watching TV. And my mother helped). He was quite unsettled going back to play group, though. Our routine is relaxed but he went a bit feral…

I really avoid doing it, sometimes I don't have cover on Thursdays in holidays, which is my half day. DD6 entertains herself with her tablet and/or Disney+ for 4 hours whilst I work. Not ideal but for a one off it's ok. No way would I do this for an entire week!

I worked some over Easter holidays, but dh and I share the holiday childcare so my working days, he had them and then vice versa. Though I did probably work a day when I had just my 11 year old home, but I barely see her anyway during the day if we're home.

Except for an emergency (and sometimes I have to work even when I'm meant to be taking the day off), I don't work a full day when my 6 year old is with me. Though dh and I always need to be on email checking in even on our non-working childcare days.

No thanks, I did enough of that in lockdown. I have a five year old so it's not really possible, even though I WFH. The only exception was a couple of days where holiday club ended early (3.30pm) so I collected him then carried on working while he watched a film. But I wouldn't have wanted to do that every day, it was distracting.

We did a mix of two holiday clubs, annual leave and grandparent. I'm finding it a real slog having no days off work for myself because I have to save it all for school holidays - dreading summer as there just isn't the provision you expect there to be. I think we've got 4/6 weeks covered now, although not every day.

Our local council holiday clubs (sports-based) are only open 9am-1pm! Wtf is the point of that?

I knew someone who claimed she and her husband, at the same time, did 10 hour wfh shifts all of lockdown with two children at home. At the start of the first lockdown they were just turned 1 and coming up to 3. I just didn't know how it was possible. Either her work or her children must have been suffering, surely?

@ItsFuckingBoringFeedingEveryoneUntilYouDie
Yes his employers have always understood and says it's standard, even the bosses do it. I did a wfh job and the bosses had kids in the background and this was only a year ago. Thankfully many are flexible now and understand this kind of allowance keeps staff. Yes he gets his job done great, kids can amuse themselves mostly, he might come away to make them food and have a quick chat every now and then.

@LauderSyme because - shock horror - looking after young kids is a job in itself, and it isn’t possible to do any kind of meaningful work when you’re in sole charge of young kids. So those who do work from home in those situations, are not doing their job properly.

I am sat currently WFH with DS 12, as he has teacher training today. He's answered the door for me, made me 2 brews and did me some marmite on toast. He's a help not a hindrance.

My boss is aware. Completely different if a lot younger obviously

@Disturbia81 what job does he do? How old is your child? Why should he be paid to look after his child?

@MumblesParty 6 and 9, obviously wouldn't with babies and toddlers. His work is one where as long as he meets deadlines then can choose own schedule as with many people. Many people can't afford holiday care. Maybe be a bit more openminded and understanding, and not assume?

DH did 2 days a week once they were 9, 11 & 13 after another year or so it was more like 4 days as I went full time.

This was never an option when mine were younger so you paid for childcare or got a job where you worked round them.
It was bloody hard juggling the school holidays when you only get so many weeks a year annual leave so we never spent a whole week together ever as a family as we had to split the holidays between us.

We also then had to pay after school or breakfast club so it was hard.

I could t have worked from home with them there though and learnt that quite quickly during covid.
I struggled to concentrate on either parenting or working so never felt like I had a good divide.

From another point of view I had some important think hmrc type stuff to sort which at the time was all done from home for staff.

Three times paperwork was sent off or registered with the wrong details and at one point a call handler was shouting over his children in the background to hear me. Was horrendous

I can understand why you’d be secretive about it to your employer, if you chose to do it. I’m less clear on why people would be deliberately vague about it to OP as if they’re accountable to other school parents for their work output. If the vagueness is just ‘we’re using a mix of leave, grandparents and holiday clubs’ then surely that’s because that’s the acceptable level of detail to go into without boring people to death, not because they’re trying to hide a conspiracy to cheat their employer.

Mixture of days off, grandparents and having them at home while I WFH. They are 9 & 12 though so don't need constant supervision. I can also be fairly flexible so work less on a day they're home then do a longer day when they're with grandparents

I'm sure her work did suffer, but we didn't have a choice in lockdown!

I had my 6 and 9 year old here for part of one of the days - my partner took them to work with him for the first part of the day, and they were here with me for the afternoon.
Took my lunch break when they came home so we could go and burn some energy, and then worked as usual for the last few hours.
It wasn't without its interruptions, but nothing major.
My immediate line manager wouldn't care - she's very much a 'family first, do what you have to do' boss.
Don't feel bad about it in the slightest. They were perfectly happy with me killing myself to stay on top of work, looking after much younger children and attempting to home school my eldest during the first lockdown. Only difference now is it's easier, and it benefits me.

This is going to lead to some very big problems for HR further along the line. Many people could work with their nine year old at home, but I couldn't as mine has additional needs. Same as it's easier to wfh if you have a partner who is also wfh, so it's unfair on single parents. I also think those with only children are at a disadvantage...
the only way it will be fair is if employers say that no one can wfh with children under 14 unless there is another adult there to supervise

Nope. I took two days off, he was with grandparents two days and then in holiday club all of last week. He's also 5 and there is absolutely no way I could work with him at home.

Mine are older now and don’t really need looking after but yes I worked from home over the Easter holidays - I didn’t have enough leave to take the full 2 weeks off and Dh and I worked through it as best we could.

I did start work earlier and finished earlier so I could spend some time with them. And had a couple of days off, however the weather was absolutely miserable and they weren’t all that keen on doing much anyway 🤷‍♀️ I have the full week off for May half term so I am hoping that we have better weather and can do something.

Yes they probably spent too much time on devices but such is life and when we did go out and do stuff we had a great time.

Yep - well times when I wasn't out on client visits. Kids are 11 and 12 so perfectly fine to amuse themselves during the day and know if my office door's shut don't disturb but if it's open they're fine to come in.

DH incidentally was also WFH in his office - but he doesn't get judged about it the same way.

Both employers aware and utterly fine with the arrangement.