If you work in office M-F and have a short commute (5-10 minutes), how do you feel about your setup?

[onkos1]

Last fall I accepted a promotion with my current employer of 8 years. They agreed to hold the position for me until my baby turns 1 in June and also agreed to hours of 9am-3pm. I’ll have a full-time salary and benefits. The only drawback is that I’ll have to been in office M-F. Luckily the office is about 5 minutes from home.

My 4 year old and soon-to-be 1 year old will start a Montessori daycare/preschool in two weeks. Up until now I have been working just Monday and Wednesday while my mom watches the kids. The other weekdays I haven’t worked at all. My husband will do drop off since the daycare is about 10 minutes from home and closer to his office. I’ll do pickup everyday around 3:10-3:15 and we’ll be home a little before 3:30.

As it gets closer to our start date, I’m getting a little nervous about going into the office daily. Getting up on time no matter how the night went so I can get ready, getting the boys fed/dressed, making sure the bags are packed, lunches made, etc. All the illnesses that I’m sure will be coming our way. I’m starting to think I was crazy for accepting? But maybe I’m just getting cold feet with a big change coming up?

There were a lot of reasons I originally accepted the job - issues with the care my mom was providing (not safety related, mostly just too much sugar and TV), feeling excited about the Montessori daycare, double the take home pay even after accounting for daycare (granted I didn’t make a lot, but it will still be about $1,000 extra per month) opportunities for career advancement, my own 401k match, benefits, etc.

Am I going to burn out with going into the office daily while having small kids? Or will my short commute and 3pm end time be my saving grace?

 

[guinin]

@onkos1 So it will suck for a little bit when you are getting used to it, but soon you’ll find your groove and it will be fine. I think it’s just cold feet.

My son goes to daycare 4 days a week. I go to the office 3-4 days a week and have a 10 minute commute. For me it honestly doesn’t matter if I work from home or at the office. I do all drop offs and pickups so I have to leave the house anyway. Those few extra minutes to the office are hardly different from those same minutes I would have spent going back home.

It does help if your job has a little flexibility and you don’t have to clock in at a set time as long as you work your hours. I also have found daycare to be a great excuse to stop working for the day and leave the office in time.

 

[roz2477]

@onkos1 It's going to be absolutely fine. I go into the office five days a week by choice, rather than working from home. My commute is 10 minutes and I work 8-4 (with some flexibly for start and end times). I don't like being at home because then I'm tempted to do chores and am less productive anyway. My child gets up at 645am everyday, so getting to work by 8ish has never been a problem since daycare is pretty much on the way.

 

[onkos1]

@roz2477 I think I would be tempted to do chores as well and I do like the idea of having work at work and then when I'm home I'm really home.

 

[mikegray]

@onkos1 I love going into the office. I was worried that it would be a hard shift from remote work but I’m enjoying it so much more. It’s really nice having the separation between work and home. I also like interacting with adults during the day. I think I’d be upset about returning to remote work own!

I’ve found that showering at night makes a huge difference in ease of the morning.

 

[onkos1]

@mikegray I'll definitely need to start showering at night! Good idea!

 

[walter_tsuro]

@onkos1 I think what you’ve described sounds ok!

I work Mon thru Thurs 9-5 in the office, and have Fridays off with my son. My commute is 1 hour each way (public transport).

My husband WFH and has a very flexible schedule.

I only do nursery drop and pick up one day and he does two (and he is with our son on Thursdays).

So I only have to handle my own needs for three of my office days- which is a godsend as well as my three day ‘weekend’.

I’ve been doing it since Feb after having had a much more flexible job, and I get tired but it’s exciting, rewarding and good for my career.

It sounds like they value you so maybe they’d be open to other flexibility if you try it and it’s not quite right for your family. Good luck!

 

[onkos1]

@walter_tsuro That's a good point about possibly changing the set up in the future if it's not working after a while. I have also thought that since this promotion is overall good for my career progression, there might be a chance of finding a remote position at a different company later on.

 

[walter_tsuro]

@onkos1 For sure. My job now is a temporary agreement (on loan from my perm job) and I’ve realised that it’s not something I want to do permanently, but nevertheless it’s great for my CV and opening up doors / contacts for my next move.

 

[grace4nan]

@onkos1 The initial shock to your life of going back to work is difficult. And then you get used to it. Yes, you are tired if your kids don't sleep well, but you just go to work anyway. Yes, it's a drag to go in everyday, but you get used to it. It actually gets easier as time goes on not harder, in my experience at least.

 

[onkos1]

@grace4nan That's good to hear that it can get easier as time goes on! We're done at two, so at the very least my kids will sleep a little better as they get older and I think that will help.

 

[ninsh]

@onkos1 This is actually my exact setup, and I love it! 9-3 is great, though sometimes I wish I had more time in the day! But leaving for daycare pickup always does feel great.

 

[anx66]

@onkos1 I work 8-4 and have a 5 minute commute. I could work from home a few days a week if I wanted to, but I choose to go to the office because there’s no way I could be productive with an infant around me while working.

I personally love the set up. I make sure to get good snuggles in before work and postpone my drive until the last possible minute. I like being able to use my brain for work and I think being away from baby makes it easier to work as I’m not torn between my work and my baby being in the same space. I also earn more than my husband and have great benefits so it’s worth it to stay in the workforce full time.

 

[onkos1]

@anx66 I'm super excited to not have my kids around me while working! It has recently gotten a little better with my almost 1 year old, but for a while when he was really little I felt like my brain was absolutely fried from working in short increments, stopping to nurse him frequently, and hearing him fuss off an on.

 

[skytheoden83]

@onkos1 This my situation. 100% in office (except when at client sites) and the office is a 10 minute commute. Either at home or work I can be close to the kids school, their daycare, the house, my regular doctor, grocery store, etc. it’s great. Makes for a predictable routine. There will always be something extra to manage, but at least getting to or from work won’t add to the stress.

 

[gautier]

@onkos1 What makes me nervous in my situation about an early pickup time is that I’m going to have my 6 month old and 2.5 year old solo for a couple hours until my husband gets home. You may want to do errands some days before pickup to knock out to dos without the kids and to not have them solo for long

 

[onkos1]

@gautier That's a good idea! Once they're fully adjusted to daycare and I know they're happy there I might start doing some errands before pickup.

 

[anaam]

@onkos1 9 to 3 with a very short commute sounds like a sweet set up to me. But I also work 12s, so....

 

[channtheman]

@onkos1 You’ll adjust and things will fall into place. I used to have that short commute as well (but I was 9-5 at work, now WFH).

 

[hassan112]

@onkos1 This is my ideal setup, IMO, because I hate working from home. I had this kind of setup for 6 years until a restructuring that lengthened my commute considerably. You’ll be fine, it’ll just take an adjustment initially as with any change.