To wonder about your WFH jobs?

[rhaenyra01]

I have a 2 month old daughter and I'm currently on mat leave. At the moment I work in the NHS in a clinical role, while I've been on mat leave I've been thinking about the benefits of looking for a new WFH job so that I can be with my daughter more. I've worked in lots of different jobs over the years and although I like my job at the moment, my daughter is more important to me than having a "dream job". As long as it doesn't make me miserable, and pays the bills, I'd be happy!

Those of you who WFH - what is your job? Do you enjoy it? Does it enable you to spend more time with your kids?

I WFH as a lawyer - have done since pre pandemic as my work is almost entirely paperwork based. Some people in my team do find it lonely so we have the option to go in - I never do.

I do find I spend more time with my children than I did before when I was in a more traditional 9-5 but this might be because I don't have to do set hours -
I have to put in at least 9 hours work a day, but no one cares when I do it.

So for me - I drop the children at school/nursery, then am at my desk for 9, work 9-3 solidly and then get the children, play, do tea and bedtime, and then work 7.30-11 at night. It wouldn't suit everyone because there's not really any 'me' time but in the short term whilst the children are little it's what is best for us.

I do find it useful in terms of general life stuff too - I'll do a set of papers, then empty the dishwasher, do a few calls, put a load of washing in etc.

OP - the reason people are being snippy is that there have been a lot of posts recently with people asking if they can feasibly work from home with a pre school aged child to save on childcare. Those of us that did it during lockdown remember how absolutely awful it is, and are clear that it cannot be done.

yes as I work 8-4 so my husband does drop off at the Nursery for 8am and then comes home and he works 8.30-4.30

I collect daughter by 4.30 at the latest and we have from 4.30 - 7.30 together before she goes to bed :)

We also both work 4 days so have a day a week each with daughter too#

i don't think it's necessarily because we have WFH jobs - more that our companies we work at are flexible

YABU. You can’t work while you look after your daughter. Completely unfair on her and your employer. Children need attention and stimulation (not screens), you can’t give them that if you’re working.

I WFH 4 days a week. Our DS is in nursery during those times. WFH means I can prep dinner or put a wash on in my lunch break; and he goes for shorter day (9-5) because I’m not commuting, but you can’t keep your DC at home while you work.

If you mean should you look for a WFH job once your DC is in childcare then yes, by all means.

I WFH and it absolutely allows me to book myself out to attend almost all school things and I make the time up later. I can also pop out for the odd drop off or pick up as needed and I've met some school mums.

I would say if you WFH you need flexi to make the most of it for you and the employer. My job means I carry a lot of mental baggage about work and I sometimes fantasise about a job that I can leave at the door and be fully mentally present.

Wfh is a mindset.You will want to find a way to pack away each day, whether that's not working in family spaces or packing your desk away each night or taking lunch breaks away from the home.

And visiting colleagues in the office on occasion and phone calls are a must. It's amazing how stressed I can feel at home alone compared to in the office where you would bounce off someone and get some perspective.

It sounds like you want something that is WFH with flexible hours? Agree if you're WFH, someone else needs to be looking after your child.

I WFH. My kids are 8 and 10. They come home from school at 3pm. I work till 5pm. But my kids can feed and entertain themselves in that time. DH and I still book leave for holidays, when they're off school etc.

When DC were babies, I worked in a call centre in the evenings around DH's hours. So I was home all day with DC and we didn't need childcare. I was permanently exhausted though and wouldn't recommend it longer than 3/4 years until nursery places happen TBH.

I wfh in marketing but apart from now being able to walk DD to school, don't see the kids any more as ... I'm working.
I don't need to pay for after school club now as my DCs are old enough to chill and watch telly (Y6 and Y9).

Just to add to my post that you absolutely cannot WFH and be your daughters childcare.

A lot of us had to try that during covid and it was the worst of all worlds. Felt like I was doing a shitty job at work because i felt like i was being a crap parent and vice versa. It's a hard no and at my workplace its ansackabke offence without prior agreement (like if my kid is sick and I need to be off I might take the day off to care for her but dial into an important meeting if she is sleeping or take a few urgent emails if she is comfy in the sofa next to me- but the expectation is that I am not around or expected to do it)

My children are junior school age and constantly interrupt me. It’s impossible to work from home with children around.

I would love to wfh. I definitely think my 3 hours a day commuting would be better spent with my kids which is I assume what you meant rather than working with kids running around. Most people I know in project management and data analysis wfh almost all the time. That's what I'm looking to go into. If you did mean a job with your kids there I know a few people that have started their own businesses (shop based) that have managed to work with kids there at least some of the time.

I agree with what a lot of people are saying that workplace culture/the type of role is as important as just whether you can WFH. I’m senior so do have a lot of flexibility/control over my diary - so recently for example at nursery they did a Mother’s Day thing and I was able to pop out to that. If I’m quieter I often log off at 4:30 to prep dinner and then do nursery pick up - but I also often have to log back on after bedtime so it’s swings and roundabouts on that front!

If you're going to do it full time you really do need your own office.

@ilovemydogmore or a dedicated nook of your bedroom with a chair, table and plug socket.

How much do you need to earn? What hours are you intending on working?

There's no point people telling you about their term time only, school hours jobs if you need to work full time, or their high level finance roles if you don't have qualifications.

or a dedicated nook of your bedroom with a chair, table and plug socket.

I'd hate to work in my bedroom, bedroom should be where you relax and can switch off at night. I struggled enough working in our living room during the pandemic and seeing my desk there as I tried to unwind at night (and I don't dislike my job!), we moved to a house where I could have a separate office once I realised I wanted to WFH more permanently.

I work from home in 2 jobs, the first is something I often get flamed for on here. Highly paid though.

The other job is something to consider. I do medical proofreading, fully work from home, highly paid and very much in demand. I had a nursing/midwifery background. And there is not much typing involved, if any, which suits me better than straight medical typing from home which is poorly paid. There is little to no opportunity for career progression which I love but is worth bearing in mind as it won't suit everyone.

How would one go about getting this kind of job?

I am a clinical coder for the NHS.
I love WFH, I'm on mat leave at the moment and am planning to split my day when I return so I will work from 5-10 in the morning and then do 2.5 hrs once DD has gone to bed so I will be able to spend the whole day with her.

@HBGKC I started off freelancing to build up a portfolio more than anything, it pays peanuts. Then I applied for a permanent postition once I'd built up a decent portfolio of different things: reviews, adverts, product descriptions and articles. I have a degree in English and teaching experience, which I think helps.

Technical and development and I love it.
Brought up in poorish home, but parent there and home cooked food, able to come home to warm house.
Kids were in creche when younger as wfh with kids only works with older kids.