Related Posts
Hi folks,What is the wfh situation in fidelity?
Here’s my WFH coworker, Jonas! She’s 8 1/2.

Location constraint:
I have got a very good offer that i cannot deny, but location is Hyderabad, I want this in Bangalore location. I am not onboarded yet, spoke to HR , he said it is not a big problem, Thoughtworks is very flexible.
Currently it is WFH, but once it is back to office.. I dont want to relocate. How easy it is relocate from Hyderabad to Bangalore, Thoughtworks
More Posts
My CD is one big 'Splainie 😡
New to Fishbowl?
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.








Interesting daycare hours, very constraining, almost feels like it’s not intended for working parents. Daycares in my area are typically between 6am to 7am and typically go through 6pm to 630pm. Outs is 630am to 630pm, so it’s easier to navigate flexibility with work
Where are you located
This struck a nerve. I did not read any comments. Day care sucks, work life balance sucks. It all sucks.
The only thing that saved our marriage, was resetting our lives, we both took a giant, and I mean giant! Over $100,000, reduction, each, and took different jobs with much, much, much, less stress.
In the end, I am a very happy person, and we are a very happy family 

That sounds like an extremely fortunate situation. Most don't make over $100k and if each of you were able to take 100k pay cuts and still live comfortably, then of course it was an easy decision. You are right, though, daycares suck.
With daycare only open 8-5, the earliest I could get in is around 9:30 and will then have to leave at 3:30-3:45 for pick up. Is this normal for parents and are employers generally very understanding about this?
Curious about what everyone does. One approach I heard is to have one parent drop off and another parent pick up so both could still be in the office for 7-8 hours. Basically one has an early start and the other a later start for the workday. But even with that I’ll still be getting in or leaving at an odd time compared to other colleagues without kids
You will need back up care for these days
As a single mother, the only thing that works is working remotely and having a nanny when I need to travel for work and personal reasons.
Did you know this when you accepted the position? This would have been a good point to negotiate before accepting to give you more flexibility. Is there a daycare closer to work you can switch to?
The daycare is 3min from my home and I only go to the office twice a week. Haven’t discussed the details regarding hours in office yet but 2 days in office is already more flexible than a lot of other jobs out there that require 3-4 days in office. Just trying to gauge what’s reasonable to ask and what other parents generally do
You say both you and your husband have the same WFH days, is it possible that one of you can switch your WFH days so that they’re different from one another?
It was never an issue where I worked. I feel like a good place understand that parents need to pick up their kids. No one is checking if you’re in your seat exactly at 9 am. If you’re doing pick ups, just let them know and that you’ll log back on later. Maybe raise this with your team so they know what to expect. I drop off around 830 and pick up at 3.
Agreed.. Everyone on my floor is salaried and I don't think anyone is here at the same time everyday... AROUND the same time yes, but no one is doing a seat check... They care that we get the work done... so long as that is happening they are pretty flexible.. My kids are grown now so I don't have the daycare excuse anymore,.. LOL But I do empathize with those still in that little kid boat..
Can your partner take care of the 2 days you are in office?
Are the days you go in negotiable? Are the days he goes in? I suggest you work together to see if you can limit the number of days when you both go in to limit the accommodation you request from your employer.
As a manager, considering the balance of the whole team is important. Allowing special hours or working arrangements can be a challenge as it can mean that others on the team have to take on more work. One team member was rearing his grandchild, which we all thought was wonderful. His needs for accommodation became difficult over time as he wasn’t at work before 9:30 am and left at 3:15pm. He didn’t want to be available during those times for a short meeting.
It was a drain on the rest. Something to consider when discussing with your manager.
Not everyone has roles that are interdependent.. No one else does what I do or even knows how ( it's a bad single point of failure for them I know)
Anyway, the way our team is set-up, we all do very specific things and taking off early or having an accommodation isn't going to throw more work anyone else's way. If there is something that we just HAVE to finish on any given day, we can log in from home.
I leave my office at 4:30 for pickups. Sometimes I have to take afternoon meetings in the car or get back online after dinner to finish work. I don’t think you should be expected to change daycares. As long as you are upfront with your manager/ coworkers and you get your work done, it shouldn’t matter.
I do drop off and can get to the office by 9:30. Husband usually does pickup, if he can’t I leave work at 5.
I don’t think there is any other option for you than switching off with that kind of commute. Or your job allowing less hours on in office days.
We use an in-home daycare, her hours are 7-5. My office hours are 8-4 with the option of remote when needed. I drop my 10yo at school at 705, then the baby at 710, get to work around 745, leave right at 4 to pick them both up by 5. My husband works in the opposite direction of school and daycare, so it just makes sense for us for me to do both. If there is ever a day I will be late, he is able to pickup both as well. If I had different hours, I don't think it would work for us.
My daughter’s daycare is 5mins from my office, so I drop her around 8 and make it to the office by 8:30. I leave between 5-5:15 to pick her up.
Could you have one parent do drop off and one do pickup
We use an in home daycare that’s only about 10 minutes from my husband’s job. Drop off at 8. He starts work at 8:30 and gets off at 5. Pick up around 5:15
Most daycares around here, DMV, are 730-530, not ideal but better. We split pickup and dropoff, or if work location is flexible put in 6-7.5 in office, traffic dependent, and remainder before or after at home.
I drop off at 8 and get to work at 8:30. leave work at 4:30 to get kid by 5.
It's like everything else. What is the norm where you work? Do you get your work done? Are you already being scrutinized for other flexibility in your schedule?
I work hybrid and most people are in by 9 and leave at 3 or 4,when working in the office and MOST do NOT have children needing daycare. The understanding is that they are working from home before, after or both on in the office days.
How tolerant the daycare is about you being late matters too.
If you can work for an hour at home before you drop off your kid, make sure your boss is okay with it. It's really the optics, so if most others are getting in 8 hours in the office and you won't be, that's a red flag unless you are a "protected" worker who they really want to keep Petty management would use your hours in the office to rationalize a lower raise
You'll need to find a daycare close to work or move or find another job. Millions of working parents make it work. Drop off at 7:30a, pick up at 5:30p. You do what you need to do.
I’m a single mother and when my son was little – he started at six months old because 12 months of maternity leave was not available yet at that time – he went to a daycare which was open from 7 AM to 6 PM. We were living in Scarborough then and my travelling time was one hour to get to Commerce Court building at King and Bay. To give a buffer in the afternoon I gave up 30 minutes of my lunch hour and left the office at 4:30 PM. I rushed all the way to Scarborough via the TTC subway and LRT and was only late once. He attended daycare up to age 5 years old, but I moved him downtown at BCE Place when he was three years old, which made it much easier. There are several daycares that are open from 7 AM to 6 PM because they know that parents travel and work. I did this alone for five years so if there’s two of you, this is very doable! I’m curious to know what daycare is open from 8 AM to 5 PM only. That’s odd! They are in the wrong business because obviously the workplace finishes at 5 PM. All the best!
For years we dropped off the kids at a babysitter that would watch them for an hour before taking them to school. Then pick them up and watch them til I picked them up after work. For a time it was a relative. Other times a friend. Other times a paid babysitter.