WFH with kids isn't easy, but neither is working in an office. As a parent, I think strict RTO policies are a mistake.

• My husband and I have worked from home for over a decade, and for our kids' entire lives.
• I have more agency, am more focused, and feel happier at home than in an office.
• I never want to return to working in an office and sympathize with parents navigating RTO policies.

In 2012, my husband and I quit our office jobs to travel.

When we returned home a year later, he got a remote job as an independent contractor conducting energy efficiency assessments for new homes. He took on enough work for me to start helping, too. It became a career that served us well for the next 11 years until he left the role and I moved into freelance writing.

I quickly realized working from home 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 have zero interest in ever working in an office again.

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

I reduced my hours to 20-30 per 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 adjusted to working from home during and after the pandemic, our set-up barely changed.

Because of their age difference, we spent about six years working from home with at least one child in tow. Now that they're older, school provides a separation between work and parenting. When it's gone, we feel its absence. In the summer, my working day is filled with noise, and our routine gets upended.

WFH with kids is not always easy. The years with one or both young kids at home were the hardest. I remember squeezing in work where I could. It was not a perfect work-life balance, but it was the best option we had, and I don't regret it.

We've gotten by with a combination of childcare help from the grandparents — one or two days a week at most — and affordable childcare options like half-day camps during the summer.

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

Even with the headache of figuring out childcare, it's worth it to be able to schedule work around naptimes or trips to the park. I can take breaks to get ahead on chores. These moments of agency help me keep pace with life as a parent.

I've also cherished when the kids would sit and color beside me as I worked or climb into my lap and force me to set work aside for a minute. I love being outside with the laptop while they play in the yard, as opposed to commuting at 6 p.m.

Many people struggle with having work and home so intertwined. But I would take a lack of boundaries over being in an office away from my children.

I was never my most focused or productive in an office.

Working at home with kids can be distracting. My kids steal my focus occasionally. I found it particularly hard when they were toddlers. 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 an office. I struggled to deal with chatty coworkers ensnaring me in the hallway or higher-ups popping in and breaking my focus at the worst times. My sensory sensitivities made it extremely difficult to tune out distractions. I had frequent headaches and was exhausted by the environment.

Ending those hallway conversations was never a strength of mine, but I find it easier to manage distractions as a parent. When my kids interrupt, I can gently request their patience until I've finished a task. "Let me get to a stopping point" has become a household mantra for us, and our kids have learned they can trust us to follow up with them in a few minutes.

My kids wanting my attention can be exhausting, but I signed up for it as a parent. Remote work has proven that office irritations are not a requirement for making a living, and I am happy to give them up.

For most people, there is no such thing as a truly distraction-free work environment, and I much prefer my chosen home interruptions over draining workplace disruptions.

I never want to go back to working in an office

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

My heart goes out to parents who now have to navigate RTO policies. According to a 2023 survey 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 we've made 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 on-site or in-office, and I celebrate that choice.

With everything we have collectively gone through with the pandemic, we should all be able to choose how we work best.