I have been a WFH parent for years. Strict RTO policies are a mistake.

I realized quickly working from home it was my personal dream come true. As a homebody through and through, I love everything about it.

Even with all the challenges it brings as a parent, I never care working in an office again.

WFH is all our children have ever known. There are challenges, but it works well for my family.

I reduced my hours to 20-30 a week when my first child was born in 2014, while my husband remained full time. It took my kids a while to understand that “going to work” means leaving the house for most people. While most families have adapted to working from home during and after the pandemic, our setup has barely changed.

Because of their age difference, I spent about six years working from home with at least one child behind. Now that they are older, school provides a separation between work and parenting. When it disappears, we feel its absence. In the summer, my work day is full of noise and our routine is changed.

WFH with children it’s not always easy. The years with one or both small children at home were the hardest. I remember cramming in work where I could. It wasn’t a perfect work-life balance, but it was the best option I had and I don’t regret it.

We got by with a combination of help from the grandparents looking after the kids – one or two days a week at most – and affordable childcare options such as half-day camps during the summer.

Other than that, we juggled everything ourselves. One of us often had to work less to make it work and we each took turns. I saved more by avoiding the cost of full-time childcare than I lost in reduced hours. We started our children in a half-day preschool when they were around three years old.

Even with the headache of finding childcare, it’s worth it to be able to schedule work around naps or trips to the park. I can take breaks to move things forward. These moments of agency help me keep up with parenthood.

I also appreciated when the kids would sit and color next to me while I worked or climb on my lap and force me to put the work aside for a minute. I like sitting outside with my laptop while they play in the yard as opposed to the 6pm commute

Many people struggle with work and home being so intertwined. But I would accept the lack of boundaries of being in an office away from my kids.

I have never been the most focused or productive in an office.

Working at home with children it can be distracting. My kids steal my focus occasionally. It was especially hard for me when they were small children. But working in an office can be just as distracting.

For three years after college, I worked in customer service as a receptionist and copywriter, all in one office. I struggled to deal with talkative colleagues who would pick me up in the hallway or taller people who would appear and break my concentration at the worst times. My sensory sensitivity made distraction extremely difficult. I had frequent headaches and was exhausted from the environment.

Ending these hallway conversations has never been my forte, but I find it easier to manage the distractions as a parent. When my kids interrupt, I can gently ask them to be patient until I finish a task. “Let me get to a stopping point” has become a household mantra for us, and our kids have learned that they can trust us to follow them within minutes.

My kids wanting my attention can be exhausting, but I signed up for that as a parent. Working remotely has proven that office irritations aren’t a requirement for making a living, and I’m happy to ditch them.

For most people, there is no such thing as a truly distraction-free work environment, and I much prefer the interruptions of choice at home to interruptions at work.

I never want to go back to working in an office

My husband is currently between jobs so he is handling the kids after school duties right now, but he is open for an office position. I will continue to prioritize my WFH lifestyle because I am happy with the work-life balance it provides.

My heart goes out to the parents who now have to navigate RTO policies. According to a 2023 study from the International Workplace Group, 72% of women said they would look for a new job if they lost flexibility in their current roles. It would be a mistake to destroy all the hard-won progress in making remote work a viable option by enforcing strict RTO policies.

WFH is not an option for every parent. When it is, other parents may prefer to be onsite or in the office, and I celebrate that choice.

With everything we’ve been through with the pandemic, we should all be able to choose how we work best.