to think I can get by without childcare in August because work is quiet?

[isitPeri1]

Every August, work slows down massively. It has always been this way. There is barely anything coming in, hardly any meetings or deadlines, and most of my team is off. My manager and her manager are both away for the whole of August, so it is very unlikely anything urgent will come up.

I have primary school-aged kids and I am thinking I might skip childcare this year. I usually only have about one to two hours of work a day in August, and some days there is literally nothing to do at all. Anything that does come up, I can usually fit around the kids early in the morning or after they have gone to bed. I have proper annual leave booked for September when they are back at school, so I will get a proper break then.

Has anyone else done this? Just managed without childcare when work was super quiet?

Or maybe they’re expressing concerns that this sort of behaviour is considered acceptable in public sector employment!

And you got a reply on a Friday evening? Sure you did!!!!

Yes we chat on WhatsApp. We go out for lunch and are friends as well. Is that something so preposterous?

Not really.

Sales start on black Friday.

The last few years I've noticed most stores have reduced their Xmas stock early in December and in many stores, there's no Xmas stuff other than food left as they're putting out the January clutter-busting/fitness stuff.

Same as most stores currently have their autumn/Halloween stuff out right now in July and by the time the end of September comes around, you'll find a small amount of reduced Halloween stuff in the back as every store is putting the Xmas stuff at the front.

Same as you get Easter Eggs just after Xmas and discounted Easter Eggs the couple of weeks before Easter because the stores have moved on to summer stuff.

😂 aren’t you a delight.

I was entering into a conversation.

you felt you needed to come on to the internet to ask a very specific question about your employer and if you could get away with not working for a month.

apparently you can. I was simply commenting that no one here knows so why ask us???

I think so. Recently registered user. Claims to be in a senior position but no work, no professional development to catch up on etc etc. Can’t take decisions for herself.

very angry if people question her. Wasn’t able to talk to her boss until she wanted to prove people wrong. Etc etc.

you’ve posted on a public forum for opinions from others. I’ve replied with how it would be viewed from my workplace (who are actually a fab employer with very good flexible working policies and support for parents) and how your colleagues may perceive it. If your managers have approved your set up then I don’t know why you posted on here for advice to be honest - crack on and have a good summer!

and if you want to see the ‘other side’ of your arrangement then look at the trending thread set up by a user who is frustrated by someone looking after their kids on work time and how it impacted their outputs…
with regards to healthy and safety - I’m not saying that you replying to emails whilst looking after your children would result in harm to your customer - it’s more if you are popping out and are in a car accident on work time, or you or your kids had an accident whilst you were juggling work and childcare at the same time, your work would be under obligation to investigate that (and maybe even report major injuries) as they have a duty to keep you safe whilst on work time if you are supposed to be working…

MN is well known for being shitty about people WFH and assume every job is, or should be, a clock-in and clock-out one where everyone is paid for their time/ labour and not for their skills or expertise.

It is quite old-fashioned and I get it, people are envious. But envy is fine so long as it isn't a crab-bucket mentality.

And lots of posters seem to have difficulties not realising that not everyone has the same sort of job as them.

She said she posted to get opinions and on the back of those opinions asked her manager who has approved it. So that’s why she posted. Of course the thread has moved in a lot but people are still telling her that her manager won’t like it!

And that other thread isn’t relevant because that was about much younger children, babies and toddlers. Not an 8 and 10 year old.

A classic case of just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

I'd be absolutely livid if it ever came to light a colleague had been behaving in this way. It's not jealousy, I just can't abide piss taking.

You can't have your kids at home for the 6 weeks holiday (and take them out everyday etc) and then book annual leave for yourself. You may 'get away with it' or you manager may unofficially tell you it's okay but morally and ethically I think it's wrong.

There's plenty I could get away with as I WFH, but I don't as it's just not fair.

It's different if your childcare let you down or there were other extenuating circumstances but to plan this and then take your leave as soon as the kids go back doesn't sit right with me at all. It's taking liberties.

People like you will ruin WFH for everybody

And did these staff get paid for taking this quiet time?

Exactly - these threads always go the same way and it's so predictable.

Honestly I wouldn't bother replying to people. They live in a tiny world where they can not comprehend that other people's jobs may not run like theirs and that everyone should parent like they do.

The only thing I would have said, is something you've already done, check with your manager to ensure you're covered.
I'm a teacher and the amount of people that dislike me because I now dont have a lot to do over summer, its taken me years to get to this point and hu dress of hours work in the last half term to ensure I have everything ready for Sept. They don't see the hours I worked in June and July to be able to spend most of summer with my kids

Like you I also take some time just for me, I go away with friends every year and it does me the world of good.

Quite.

I WFH as an NHS employee with a high level of clinical expertise and responsibility.

I can't count the number of times on MN people have told me i can't possibly be in a clinical role WFH. Including from people working in the NHS.

COVID changed things a lot in terms of the NHS recognising how many roles can be WFH but it also exposed how many people seem to think you don't really work for the NHS or not in a clinical role unless you work on wards.

WFH = how to make women work and look after children simultaneously.

Limits career progression.

Limits the activities/interactions/development of children.

Do not diminish the importance of your children and their needs and your work ethic and career by doing both simultaneously.

No man would do this

Well said

DD works hard from home and when everyone was told they needed to go in for three days she was told that she need not do this as they know that she is always available. BUT her children are in summer clubs for most of the holidays (apart from her two weeks AL) so she is free to actually work 9-3.30 without hindrance. Outside these hours she does what the OP says she does and keeps an eye on her phone. I live close to her and sometimes have the children at short notice if somebody calls an online meeting at a time she can't manage (school collection or when they are at home). I do the same if she needs to go into work for any reason as occasionally happens.
Obviously DD's employers are aware that many do take the piss whilst WFH, hence the three day edict and the large number of redundancies that have been made in her company recently.
It's always risky to think you can get away with what suits you, it may not suit your employer. If redundancies are in the pipeline will they keep the employee who toes the line and is always available or the one who has told them that they have children at home all day during the holidays? And (unless you have a partner who is genuinely free over the summer to take them out some of the time) it makes for a pretty boring holiday for the DC.

And are you caring for two pre-teens in your hours WFH providing clinical care for the NHS?

People who think every job is the same as their own will ruin it. Unfortunately that includes a lot of jobsworth middle managers, many whom seem to lurk on MN.

I’ll repeat to you what my day looked like on Thursday (I work for an org with your kind of mindset). I had literally nothing to do with all my projects being out with external suppliers. I sat by my desk for 7 hours waiting for 3 emails to arrive. 2 never showed, the 3rd did just as I was closing down.

I was paid to sit there doing nothing. If I’d gone out with DD for the day, checking my email regularly, I would still have been paid to do nothing.

But I wouldn’t have had such a soul-destroying day.

Is that better?

Nope.

But I could.

Which doesn't mean I would but I could do it.

I don't have DC so don't have to make those decisions.

I'd love to have one of these jobs where you get paid to do nothing.

I assume you don't shout this about and your seniors don't realise they are paying you for nothing?

(Cue you saying you worked a 20 hour day on Wednesday or some other reason to justify your stance)

FWIW I don't have am issue with the occasional day like you outline. Planning to do it for a whole month is an absolute piss take.

Flexibility is one thing and the OP is not asking for flexibility, she's planning not to do much work at all and then take her AL on top of this. I don't see how anyone can argue this isn't taking absolute liberties.

What is really happening here is that I am managing my time responsibly, with full transparency, during a quiet period that everyone in my team is aware of. My manager knows the workload in August is minimal and has approved my setup. I am still working, I am still available, and nothing is being neglected. Just because I am not sitting at a desk for show does not mean I am taking the piss.

You say it is not jealousy, but the outrage only ever seems to come out when someone manages to balance work and life in a way that does not involve being constantly overwhelmed. Somehow it becomes a moral issue when a parent, especially a mother, uses the flexibility available to them without burning out. That double standard says a lot.

There is no getting away with anything here. It has been discussed and agreed with my manager. I am not hiding what I am doing, and I am not dumping work on anyone else. Taking annual leave in September so I can rest is not unethical.

Honestly, how exactly am I ruining it for everybody when my manager is fully aware and has said it is completely fine?

Absolutely spot on. I could not agree more. MN has a real chip on its shoulder when it comes to WFH. The minute someone says their job is not about clock-watching or that they have flexibility, people pile in with judgment and moral outrage like it is some kind of personal betrayal.

There is a complete refusal to acknowledge that different jobs work differently. Some roles are about outcomes, not hours. Some industries have quiet seasons. Some people are trusted to manage their own workload like adults. That is not scandalous. That is just how modern work looks in many places.

Envy is one thing, but when it turns into that crab-bucket attitude, trying to drag others down for having what you do not, it gets toxic fast. Just because someone else has more balance or freedom does not mean they are doing something wrong. It just means their setup is different.

You clearly haven’t read the full thread or the updates. My manager is now fully aware of the setup and has no issue with it. It’s not about trying to get away with anything. It’s been discussed, agreed, and it works because August is genuinely a quiet time for everyone.

As for my children, they are not sitting around bored. They are being taken out, they have plans, and I’m fitting in the small amount of work I have around that. I’m not leaving them to entertain themselves all day while I stare at a laptop. This has all been carefully thought through.

Also, there are no redundancies in the pipeline and the organisation is doing very well indeed. If that changes one day, decisions will be made based on performance, reliability, and actual contribution not on whether someone admitted their kids were home during a slow period. I’m trusted, I do my job, and this arrangement is working just fine for everyone involved.