How do you fit in 35 hours of work if you do all school runs?

[Hillrunning]

I manage someone who doesn't appear to be doing anywhere near her 35 hours a week and have been advised to get her to confirm when she is completing thoes hours.

She does all school drop off and pick ups Tuesday to Friday and very often on Mondays too. She has also stated that her children have sports/activities 3 nights a week.

I just can't see how she has 35 hours spare to work with unless doing them at very unsociable hours. While she has a partner it's made very clear that he does not support and work out of the home 9 to 5.

It would be very useful to hear from others of thier patterns if they have similar demands please.

According to my own experience that is hard
I would include weekends perhaps and two days when the husband does the school run and you can get 32 h

I work full time but do all school runs, assemblies, after school activities etc.

Fortunately I am measured on outputs rather than hours and there's never been an issue with my work, so there's never an issue with me doing the school runs, as I am a high performer in our company.

Is she achieving all her work? That would be the main sticking point for me.

I have a colleague who does the 35 hours by working something like 9-2.45 with 15 min break then doing the extra 7.5 hours a week by a combination of early mornings or evenings or occasionally weekends.

After school club! Finishes at 6.

Is she meeting her objectives?

In my case, school is literally a 2 minute walk away. So I’m home and logged on before 9am If I’m doing pickup (DH and I do some each) I’m out for around 10 mins total which is taken from my break. Then I can carry on working and often go over my working hours as rarely stop at 5.

But most people don’t live directly opposite school!

I used to work between school hours 4 days per week, plus one long day when DH did both school runs for out of area meetings. But I was only contacted for 30 hours. 35 would have been a struggle.

If she's on top of her workload and responding promptly to emails and so forth then she's probably catching up on evenings and weekends.

Wrap around care ?
kids old enough to entertain themselves once collected ? Logs back on later in the evening ? Doesn’t take a lunch?

who cares, why don’t you actively manage by measuring output ?

I do but I can do unsociable hours for some bits. Kids get a school bus so I’m free by 8:15. I work 8:30 till 3pm with a half hour off so that’s 30 hours. I like to do a long day on a Monday so work till about 8. I can do work on a Saturday instead but I try not to. I take another half hour break so 34.5. Then I have casework to finish on Thurs evening. I normally do emails and bits in the evening so tend to work closer to 38-40 hours tbh.

I work 34.5 hours a week and do the school runs.
I work permanent nights, alternate weekends on week, mid week the next. Days off and before nights I do the school run as normal, after nights I drop off at breakfast club and after I wake I pick up (looking like the living dead after shift number 3) at 3:10.

I'd want to be clear what the specific issue is, though I also know that there certainly can be issues - people not being available to answer urgent questions when we need them is definitely a problem that comes up.

Mainly though, I'd want her to describe how she's doing it. And I'd also want to discuss whether she in fact wants to work part time, if that's an option for your team. Might take the stress off.

Ds started walking to and from school alone aged 6 because we just couldn't see how else to do it. It was too early for my comfort but I just couldn't see any other options at the time. In fact it worked fine. He certainly preferred it to after school plus breakfast club.

I work full time and do the majority of the school runs. We use breakfast club occasionally but when I'm WFH, I can back at my desk for 9am so don't use it much. Four days a week, we use wraparound care at school and pick DS up around 5.30. I don't generally take a lunch break so so at least 8 hours across those days. I think work 9-3 on a Friday. In practice, I also pick up bits at the weekend and evening but that's mainly as it allows me flexibility to do school stuff (assemblies, school trips) without needing to take time off work. Like others though, I'm judged on outputs rather than hours worked.

A friend of mine works 9.30-2.30 and then 7-11 each day

I am contracted 9am to 5pm with an hour for lunch.

My son’s school is a 5 mins bike ride or ten mins walk so I’m home at 8.57am.

In reality I actually log on around 7am and check emails, don’t take a full lunch, and often don’t pick up from after school club until 5.30pm. I easily make my hours.

After drop off I was sat at my desk for 9am and used lunch break for pick up; so just worked my usual hours. Clubs started after 5pm so could usually manage it without having to make up hours, but it was hectic.

Ds started walking to and from school alone aged 6 because we just couldn't see how else to do it. It was too early for my comfort but I just couldn't see any other options at the time. In fact it worked fine. He certainly preferred it to after school plus breakfast club.

What was so awful about after school and breakfast club?

Evenings, weekends, the odd afternoon where grandparents help out, then working while DC watch TV if I’m desperate.

That said, I’m paid to get a deliverable done by a set date. And as long as I don’t miss calls and the output is up to scratch, they don’t care where and when I work

Only if the school day is unusually long or she is using wrap around care. Otherwise there aren’t enough hours.

DS stopped going to wraparound in Year 6 when he was old and responsible enough to go to school alone and come home and make a snack without me stopping work, albeit I’d wait until he came in to have a brew pause so I could say hello and check in on his day.

My hours are 8-4:30 flexi so 39hours with 20mins breakfast and 20-30mins lunch.
On days I work from home I log on at 7 and work until 8. My dc sort out themselves mostly, then at 8:05 I have a meeting so when the meeting is on I listen, speak and finish getting lunches sorted (do some the evening before).
I then leave the house at 8:30 and drop the dc and get back for 8:50 latest. I then work until 2ish and take my laptop in the car and collect my dc at 2:20. Back home for 2:40 and I work until 4:30. And I still take a lunch break

Thank you all for the responses so far. To address some of the questions, Output is very low, many objectives missed, meetings missed or declined if they fall before 10 or after 2. Whole projects have suffered. No wrap around care. Children all under 8 years old.

I have to go into the office at least twice a week but on my wfh days I sometimes work from 9-2.45 and then an hour or two in the evening.

Ask her to define her hours as she is working them? As others have said is she measured by time or productivity?

also, if she does define her hours and it’s things like 7-730am, then a gap, then 9-12 (or whatever) is that half hour productive? Has she time then to do anything other than read emails and probably not even respond? Is that more productive in the morning to shape her day, is it a useless distracted piece of time?

It's not just about output and objectives although that's important.

Depending on the role it's about being available within core hours to attend meetings, answer calls and emails. Do other colleagues have to cover her etc.

I do 28 hours and can fit that in around school runs with no after school club (but with breakfast club) 35 hours would be easy if kids in after school club or fully from home. Wouldn't want to try for 40.

A good number of sports clubs are set up for parents to work - I could easily work during gymnastics and tennis club (good internet and desk set up) and working after pick up is possible too if I need to fit in a meeting to fit others' diaries as the kids will watch TV/play for an hour if we don't need to be elsewhere.

The late evening slot is great for getting stuff done without emails or teams messages popping up.

I'm based on outputs and there is flexibility both ways, I will do meetings outside my official hours, and put in more hours when busy so if it's quieter I can go to assemblies etc (although I'd much rather split with DH and not have to do them all).

How old are her children? Mine are 10 and 14 and get themselves to school.

They leave by 8:40, I log in at 8:45. I take 30-45mins lunch. My children come home at 3:30, say hi and make themselves a snack and game until I'm finished work at 4:30/5pm. They will only interrupt me in an emergency. I have 7hr working day.

If I had to physically take them to school we'd leave at 8:40 and I'd be back by 9am. Then I'd leave 3pm and be back by 3:30pm, counting that as my lunch break, then I would work on until 5pm/5:30pm. So it is possible.

This is only possible because children are no longer little and quite self sufficient, my youngest needs an adult at home but he doesn't need me for care and attention during that time. It would be different if he was aged 4-8yrs old.

My dp also works shifts so either he's around in the morning to help or he's home by 4pm depending on his shift.