Making federal employees return to in-person work likely has negative consequences for working parents
Since the onset of Covid-19 March of 2020, working from home (WFH) has been a significant part of many people’s lives. Around 22 million employed Americans work from home all the time, about 14% of all employed workers, and many others engage in hybrid work (Pew Research Center, 2023).
Individuals who WFH report many advantages. Although social interaction and connection is reported to be lower than in-person work, 71% of workers report that it helps with balancing life and their ability to get things done/meet deadlines (Pew Research Center, 2023). This is consistent with information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: the recent rise in remote work is associated with total factor productivity, meaning that as remote work increases, so does productivity (2023).
However, opportunities to WFH have decreased since the pandemic, especially in recent months. The current presidential administration ordered WFH federal employees to return to in-person work in January 2025. Although the reported intention was to reduce government costs and improve efficiency, it likely has had negative consequences for working parents.
Difficulties with in-work mandate for parents
Requiring in-person work full-time often has negative effects on parents’ well-being, work-life balance, and finances. Working from home has proven to be a crucial lifeline for many families, offering a respite from the demands of commuting and the rigid structure of office hours.
Let’s take the example of a newly postpartum mother: Her 12 weeks of maternity leave are up (assuming she has access to paid leave and was given the full 12 weeks) and she must return to in-person work. Her baby’s daycare is 15 minutes away from home and her place of work is another 30 minutes away from the daycare. She is still breastfeeding but will have to transition to pumping several times daily to maintain her milk supply (and let’s not even talk about the societal pressure to commit to breastfeeding no matter the cost). Her baby is still waking several times during the night, so she is waking three times per night to feed and comfort. Therefore, mother is sleep-deprived, waking up before dawn to get ready and commute 45+ minutes, working a full 8-hour day, commuting 45+ minutes home, making dinner, spending quality time with her baby, cleaning her home, attempting to spend precious moments with her partner (if they even have the energy to talk to each other), and then disassociating on TikTok for 30 minutes. Then she goes to sleep, only to wake two hours later to feed her baby, and the cycle continues. And continues and continues. And we wonder why postpartum mothers develop depression or anxiety, or even psychosis?
WFH improves work-life balance
According to Gallup research, 76% of hybrid WFH employees in the U.S. cite improvement in work-life balance. Employees are able to get their work complete while also managing their life and kids. For example, the work commute is nonexistent, which allows workers to spend more time with their kids. It also expands access to job opportunities without having to consider proximity to the job. There is also a huge financial benefit when we consider that the average American spends about $8,000, along with 239 hours, commuting yearly (Clever Real Estate, 2023).
Additionally, life does not have to be squeezed into the hours before your kids wake up and after they go to sleep. You can throw a load of laundry in the wash between meetings or quickly run a package to the post office. If your child is sick, you can work while they sleep or watch a movie. You can use your lunch hour to work out, make a homemade meal, or take a walk outside. These brief moments to yourself, where you aren’t wiping a snotty nose or following up on an email, are crucial for parents.
WFH benefits women
And let’s be real: working from home benefits all parents, but it significantly benefits women. More women have been able to join the workforce than ever before. According to a 2023 analysis by Brookings Institute, workforce participation for women between ages 25 and 54 is an all-time high in the U.S. This is even following the 2020 pandemic and recession, which had initially widened the workforce gap by gender (Brookings, 2021).
Further, women tend to carry the mental load of their family. Eighty-eight percent of women, either married or partnered, report that they primarily manage routines at home, despite 65% reporting that they were also employed (Ciciolla & Luther, 2019). Although more women are working than ever before, they still maintain the schedules, appointments, grocery lists, household chores, and emotional management of their children (among many, many other things). Managing a home is essentially a full-time job. If a woman is able to work from home, she can fit in small tasks and chores in between meetings or emails. Instead of commuting to work, she can take a moment to exercise or pray or take a shower. Although the division of labor between men and women should be fairer – by a lot – that is not the reality now. Why would we take away even more from women, when we have doubled their work expectations?
WFH can reduce parental stress
In 2024, the previous Surgeon General advised about parental mental health and well-being – stating that parental stress is an all-time high, with 41% of parents stating that most days they are so stressed they cannot function (HHS, 2024). The advisory blamed several factors for the increase in stress, including financial strain, time demands, and cultural pressures/expectations. Employment hours and work demands have increased over time for parents but so has the expectation to spend as much time with your child as possible. Therefore, parents are working more and spending more time with their kids, which often comes at the cost of time for anything else (or any other relationship – recipe for partner conflict!).
Federal employees should continue to have the opportunity to WFH
Whether the administration’s mandate was well-intended or not, it fails to account for the complex realities in the life of working parents. Requiring in-person work undermines the progress made in supporting working women and parental well-being. Parents, women especially, are stressed, burnt out, and overwhelmed with the expectations of modern parenting. If there is an opportunity for a working parent to WFH without sacrificing productivity, why would we take that away from them?
Sources:
https://www.bls.gov/opub/btn/volume-13/remote-work-productivity.htm
https://www.brookings.edu/articles/time-waited-for-no-mom-in-2020/
https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/parents-under-pressure.pdf
https://listwithclever.com/research/best-and-worst-cities-for-commmuters-2022/
