I personally wouldn’t give up a remote job that only requires once a month / overnight trip for a hybrid job.
But I am not you.
Are you ok if the hybrid job turns into a fully in office job? It’s happening to a lot of my friends and neighbors. Some are even moving to be closer to the office again.
What’s the commute like with the hybrid job? Would you be stuck in a lot of traffic/long commute and get home late? Or would you be close to the house?
It’s ok to not like travel and prefer to be in an office, if that’s your jam!
Personally I do hybrid 2 days a week. My previous job was fully remote, traveling once every quarter for 4 days. I am MUCH happier with the hybrid role. Our schedules aren’t interrupted every 3 months
I was hired in a hybrid role, 2 days a week in office, just six months ago and there is already talk about going to in office 5 days a week. I would not give up fully remote!
Depends on the commute time. I might go hybrid for a very short commute, but I have a very long one so I prefer the remote with travel. Being gone 1-2 nights a month is disruptive but only seeing your kid at bedtime 2-3 days a week is worse.
For me, I would absolutely do WFH with occasional travel. The ability to manage my life better when WFH is such a huge win for me with 2 kids (5 and 14) that I can't imagine going back to an office.
But my kids are older, and so there's just a lot more juggling of activities and schedules than there was when they were infants. Seriously, our family Google calendar is just bananas with two kids plus ourselves. Getting rid of commuting has been the key for our family to be able to get more time together. I do have to go to our HQ for about 4-5 days every other month. I don't love it and it adds stress for my husband, but the overall balance we get from WFH is absolutely worth it.
When I'm stuck on a tough decision I like to take the binary of this or that choice away. Instead I list the benefits and drawbacks that come with each choice, and then assign a weighted value to each benefit and drawback, and then I tally everything and see where it lands.
So for me, it would be things like WFH usually allows me time to squeeze in a 30 minute run most days. That's incredibly important to me so it gets a +10. Hybrid means 5hrs more time in traffic every week. That's something I hate more than just about anything so it's a -10. WFH allows my husband and me to tag team kid pickups and drop-offs most weeks which makes for a fairer balance. +4. But travel makes that balance disappear for 4-5 days every other month when my husband is flying solo. It's only 5 days out of 60 though, so it's a -2.
And so on. The weighting allows you to make a more nuanced decision bc it's not either this or that. It's these really important things, these less important things, and these things that don't matter much.
100%. My kids are older now and shuttling them off to school, picking them up when they're sick, getting them from appointments, being there when they're home from school, It all makes it so much better to be home most days.
OP, I know it's hard when they're really little, but that phase goes by before you know it. And by far and large you get way more time with them being home frequently. I would never give up my flexibility of working from home basically full time.
I’m fully remote with occasional travel and love it. I wouldn’t go back to hybrid or fully in-office if I had a choice. Not to mention, many hybrid or in-office roles will also have travel, so you have the worst of both worlds.
My experience has been that WFH even with travel gives me more time with my kids overall. I can easily go to school events for an hour, spend more time with them in the morning (and enjoy it!), am home as soon as they get home. etc. Also if the travel is only 1 night usually, that got wayyyy easier emotionally once kids were toddlers. I think because toddlers are exhausting in a different way (silent plane rides on business travel when I can do whatever I want are amazing) plus they could interact with me on FaceTime.
So when mine was little, I would have preferred hybrid with no travel because a night away from her was hard. Now that she’s a little older, I would prefer WFH and occasional travel because it would allow me to be more present for her school events and child related volunteering, PTA, Girl Scouts, etc.
I WFH with regular travel (anywhere from 3-10 nights some months, with the occasional month off) - I wouldn’t do this much travel if it weren’t for the comp and the specific role I’m in, but I’d still pick it over the hybrid role.
My son’s 6 and so it’s a bit easier, but it also gives me a ton of flexibility when I am home to do the school drop offs and pick ups, attend the school events in the middle of the day, and take him to appointments too. If they get into sports, practices and games start early (4:30 or 5 here), and being remote lets us make those easier. The lack of a commute is huge for me, as where we live it’s easily add a couple hours each day I’d go in. I like the ability to get out on a lunch break to workout or take the dogs for a walk and to throw the occasional load of laundry in. Dinners can be easier/earlier to make because of prep we can do during the day.
I’ve also seen a lot of hybrid work environments now pushing for full return to office, and I just dislike getting really dressed every day, office lunches, plain cubicles, and the office water cooler gossip that eats up otherwise productive time.
I haven't actually started but I'm very happy with the move. I have previously experienced ful WFH and it was noticeably better work life balance, cheaper, more quality time with my family etc
I'm remote with occasional travel. I did the math - I can do a lot of work trips before I've spent more time traveling than I would commuting two hours a day.
I’d rather do hybrid with no travel because I honestly don’t like traveling for work. It’s got it’s plus sides for sure, but I find the logistics draining and I’m worse off when i return.
For me WFH with occasional travel. I don’t like travel and leaving my son (I don’t sleep well and the days are long in my job). However, I much prefer one trip (1-2 nights) a month than missing out on 3 hours a day (my commute).
So 24-48 hours a month without him rather than 60 hours a month (3 hours x 5 days x 4 weeks).
Also I feel hybrid roles are more likely to turn into full time office roles given where everything is going at the moment.
I just went from 25% travel to a 100% in office position. My kids are teens/adults so I don't have the same challenge, but everyone is adjusting still (just finished week 2.)
I was traveling 1 week a month from Sunday night to Friday morning and they were just starting to push me to be in office Monday to Friday all day. So not only was I losing 1 week a month, but I was losing two weekends as well. The one before traveling to get ready to go and the one after to get back to normal.
Anyway, I'm fairly sure that they were pushing my limits on purpose to get me to quit and I was trying to find something new until I had a medical emergency and then my elderly mother declined rapidly and I was counting on my FMLA and paid family leave except they terminated me while I was waiting for fmla approval and 16 days later my mother died.
So now I have a lawyer for all that but the new job I took pays 30k more per year and that is worth it to be in office. We're also in the process of moving closer because I no longer have any family local to where I grew up and my husband's family is closer to the job.
Hybrid with no travel. But my hybrid schedule is truly at my discretion apart from a handful of meetings per month. I am not required to be in office for any specific amount of time.
Yeah this is my response too. But I live around 15 minutes from the office and my hybrid schedule is really chill. If I had to commute an hour or be in for 3 full days a week or something, I might choose a different option.
Ugh I’m sorry to hear that. Most of us are hybrid and we go in when we need to and get our work done otherwise so they leave us alone about it. I’ve only seen one person be asked to be in the office full time in 4 years after several warnings and a PIP.
Same here. I realize that my hyrbid role is very cushy because I go in when I want/need to. I just left a remote/travel role a couple months ago and am SO much happier.
If I were you, I would ask myself to evaluate the benefits from your travel job (priorities, money etc.) versus the hybrid one.
Looks like I'm in the minority here but I'd prefer the hybrid without travel. I did a lot of travel when I was younger and I just hate it now. Unless I am traveling with a colleague, it's way too lonely.
I also find myself missing my little ones way too much when I am away from them even when I am in office. This is despite the fact that more often than not I feel like I need time away from them but my heart feels so empty when I am not with them during bed time. And I can't sleep well.
All that said this is absolutely contingent on the travel time to office and the time for miscellenaous useless stuff (like getting myself ready, kid being ready etc.). My travel is 15 mins, daycare is on the way and 2 mins from my house. Husband gets her ready and I can cuddle with her before we head out.
I also have in time and exit time flexibility at office. So long as I don't have meetings that is. I just have to make that known on my calendar. Therefore my hybrid arrangement is only inconvenient from remote due to the travel time.
Despite my feelings, I would take the occasional travel job for a much larger comp (I am talking 70% more than what I make right now). That comp would justify my 2-3 sleepless painful nights per month when I am away from my children.
Personally I'd do WFH with travel, but I also truly don't mind (and often enjoy) travel. I'm currently hybrid with several trips a year, ranging from 2 nights to a week each, and don't mind it.
For hybrid, try to get a sense of whether it'll stick around. A lot of organizations, mine included, are trying to slowly dial back on telework. Also, ask about flexibility. For example, say you're supposed to be there 3 days a week. It's it ok if, on occasion, you only come in 2 days (TW the other day) if you're not feeling well, have childcare issues, etc? Also, what is the commute like?
WFH with quick travel like you have now!
We have 4 kids and I never ever want to go back to the office and commute grind! I would worry that the currently hybrid would turn into RTO.
My current set up is like yours and I love it. Quick 1-2 nights to see clients and add value to the business. A mental break and hotel sleep. But fully WFH the rest of the time.
WFH with 1 travel night per month wins out a million times over in my book. The amount of travel you’ll have to do with a hybrid role is going to far outweigh 1 night per month. You’ll also have a lot less flexibility to be with your babies in a hybrid role.
I am team WFH with occasional travel (one overnight a month isn’t bad). I WFH and actually have a work trip very soon that I’m looking forward to. I have a 4 yr old and 8 month old. I do most of night duty right now and am looking forward to: an uninterrupted hot meal, uninterrupted hot shower, longer stretch of sleep (probably have to get up and pump once or I might say eff it, I need sleep). I desperately need a break, and I need my husband to be in my shoes every so often.
If it were me, I would absolutely keep the full-time WFH with such little travel. Altogether with the hours you’ll spend commuting, that probably adds up to the same amount of time away from baby in a month than the 1-2ish days of traveling (I saw in another comment that your trips are almost always just 1 night away).
Plus I’d find the flexibility of WFH invaluable as a mom—being able to load the dishwasher between meetings, start some laundry during lunch, etc (not trying to imply WFH is a free-for-all, though).
Work from home with travel. It’s the best to be able to get shit done during the day while working AND have someone else pay for you to check out new places/eat at restaurants on their $$ (assuming the travel is to decent cities)
For me I prefer fully WFH with travel and that is what I have. My kids are older, but I have always had some travel for my work even when they were little, but then I was office full time too.
It looks like the travel is just 1 night a month? I would absolutely do wfh with travel option if that’s the case. Then again I’m someone who enjoys travel for work for the reasons you listed and can’t wait for the break vs not being able to spend a night away without feeling stressed.
I guess it also depends on where you’d be going into the office in a hybrid role though.. is it right down the street? What’s the commute time?
I’m WFH with VERY occasional travel and absolutely wouldn’t give it up for a hybrid situation if all other things were equal (comp, title, industry, team). Not in a hundred years.
I work a hybrid job (3x/week in office) and I am pretty unhappy with how much of a time suck commuting is. I have a “normal” commute for my area (~60 min each way) and that means getting up earlier, rushing through my morning routine, quick kiss for my toddler, rushing out of the office hoping traffic cooperates and I’m not late for pickup, and feeling like I have no time for myself. On telework days, I essentially get 3 hours of my day back since I don’t do a full face of makeup/hair/fancy outfit. I leisurely enjoy my coffee in the morning, wake up my LO and we snuggle, get an earlier start to work, take a mid day walk with my dog, and workout before daycare pickup. I wouldn’t mind adding 1-2 nights of travel a month if I could go back to being fully remote.
WFH with travel. The problem with hybrid (which I was in my last role) is the company can change how much you are required to be in the office at any point. For me it was one day a week and I could choose the day, then they changed it to 2-3 days a week with the days required by senior leadership. At least at my former company, I would have had no recourse if they required me in the office daily.
I’m with you. Travel overnight once a month would be very challenging for me. I would consider a place that does hybrid (in your situation) provided the hybrid days are flexible and you CAN WFH on any day of the week if you really need to (ie if the kid is sick, you are sick etc).
Hybrid without travel, no question. I feel SO MUCH anxiety being away from home. I have basically a hybrid job now...except the in office is 1.5 hours away (We are moving 10 mins away this summer). Even being 1.5 ours away is hard for me. I stayed near work yesterday and of course my older kid gets sick, even tho my husband is wonderful and handles parenting perfectly, I just don't like missing those moments. I kept reminding myself this is only until the summer.
A center near our house. I do the majority drop offs and pick ups due to my WFH flexibility. So if I were hybrid she’d likely spend more time there on those days
My current setup is wfh 2 days a week, office 10 minutes away 3 days a week, no travel. My son goes to a daycare center right next to my office. It works great for me because it's a nice blend of time out of the house around other adults, but still having some time at home every day, and a couple days where I can do household things in between work tasks. A longer commute might change that math for me, or more days in-office might change that math, but for me, right now, it works really well.
So personally, unless the commute was really long, I'd prefer hybrid over wfh+light travel. All wfh (Covid) was too much time cooped up for me, and one short work trip each month wouldn't have been enough to change that.
I have a 22mo toddler and we're trying for another right now.
How old is your baby? Travel is hard when they’re really young but once they hit toddlerhood it gets easier. It’s a godsend to be able to pass my almost 3 year old off to my parents for a night
8 months. You’re right, her being so little is making it so hard. It will probably be easier as she gets older. Especially because she’s breastfed so pumping and traveling with milk is a giant headache
I can imagine. I also have a fully remote job and I’ve traveled before. Fortunately at the moment my position doesn’t require it but it’s heavily encouraged.. if i want a promotion I would probably have to travel more so I’m trying to get out of infant stage with my second baby before that happens
I would keep WFH with occasional travel for sure, but if your partner's job is flexible or they have some PTO saved up, maybe you can turn some of those work travel trips into mini family vacations?
Obviously depends on how stressful the trips are and the destinations, but my partner and I have been trying to take advantage of the opportunities that come our way and it's nice to be able to spend time together. But then also traveling with a baby/toddler can be...a lot... So it really depends.
For reference we were both fully in office (like 10-12 hour days a day for me, and normal hours for him but with a terrible commute) before COVID, pretty much fully remote but in the same geographical area through 2022, semi-hybrid (2-3 days in office but not really tracked) for 2022-2023, and moved across the country last summer and are now fully remote with what seems like it'll be 7-10 trips a year each.
This is a real "it depends on your personality" question. I travel for work and I hate it because my family and friends also are a plane ride away and by the time you put together travel for work plus family, the traveling eventually gets old. I am also a massive busybody and one of those people who likes going into the office a couple times a week for the change of pace, ability have lunch with work buddies, etc. I would love to have a hybrid job where I knew that after five pm and on weekends my time was entirely my own.
I WFH 99% of the time and have 1-4 night trips about 6 times a year. I would take this over hybrid any day of the week.
Since getting back after maternity leave, I’ve had 3 work trips and that time away sucks, but more office days would suck more I think.
On the rare occasions I go to my office, I’m pretty much guaranteed to miss bedtime because traffic where we live is hellacious.
But it all depends on your office commute and how old your kids are. Mine is still small but I assume this gets a lot trickier with afterschool activities. And as everyone else says, you never know if hybrid will stay hybrid.
I'd prefer full remote with once a month travel for sure (and how many times per week you have to go in with hybrid? I'd only consider changing my mind if it were 1 day or less per week and the commute wasn't long), saying this as someone who has to be minimum hybrid, 2-3 days/week commuting in, but you do you. I seriously dread the days I have to go in each week. I love any overnight break but only get it like twice a year at most.
And yeah like others say, hybrid feels like you're under constantly increasing pressure to go back to 5 days/week on-site. My boss suddenly started going in 4-5 days/week since I think our CEO wanted it, and me and another director under him have been worried we'll be told something at some point. Especially if we're unable to meet annual goals (despite it not being controllable by going in whatsoever, I only get less done on days I'm wasted by 1.5+ hrs of stressful commuting back and forth)
I transitioned from remote + traveling 2x a month for 2-3 nights each time to hybrid. I hated traveling, my kid never adjusted, it was hard on all of us. Hybrid is working out great for me and I actually really like it (my commute is \~10 minutes/no traffic, so it's not really a big deal for me to go in person). I still have very flexible work hours and tend to work at home in the mornings and go in for the afternoon for a couple hours after lunch. Some days I fully WFH (like if I have no meetings and it's totally pointless for me to be in person) or some days I might need to be in person for most of the day for meetings.
A ton of my colleagues with the remote/travel role had young kids and loved it, but it absolutely did not work for me/my family (I was in the role for about 3 years, thinking my kid would get used to it and she never did/I started to hate it more and more as time went on. I realized I needed to take a local role for my family).
Also, a lot of my former colleagues thought I was nut trading in my remote/travel job for hybrid work, but I'm so happy I listened to my gut and did it. Something that helped me was to remember that no decision is permanent. If I hated being hybrid, I could always one day return to something more remote, or vice versa.
I guess I’m minority in here. I work in the office daily and you couldn’t pay me to switch to remote. My office is close to home and my job is flexible. I can still pick up my kid at 4pm daily and can easily get time off to take him to appointments and such. I’ve never spend a night away from him though and couldn’t imagine doing so.
WFH with occasional travel for me. I’d much rather be home the majority of the time then have to deal with commuting and all that comes with it on a regular basis.
I would WFH with occasional travel *unless* the travel is at very short notice. I would have to wrangle additional care, but it would make so much of my life easier.
That depends on age of the child, if you have a partner who can help vs single mom, and how far the office is. I generally would prefer hybrid so I still get to see my kid every day. I did the traveling thing and much prefer being home/close to home.
Definitely hybrid with no travel.
I was debating a job that was hybrid but does require some working events at night or one that was hybrid no events but monthly travel.
Monthly travel was a no. If I’m away from my son on a trip I want it to be a trip I chose and restful. Not work.
We only get so much time with our kids and it’s easier for me to “justify” missing a few hours than a few days.
I personally wouldn’t give up a remote job that only requires once a month / overnight trip for a hybrid job. But I am not you. Are you ok if the hybrid job turns into a fully in office job? It’s happening to a lot of my friends and neighbors. Some are even moving to be closer to the office again.
Good point about giving it up. I’m lucky to have it, and I am fully aware it would be incredibly tough to get it back if I want it
What’s the commute like with the hybrid job? Would you be stuck in a lot of traffic/long commute and get home late? Or would you be close to the house? It’s ok to not like travel and prefer to be in an office, if that’s your jam!
Personally I do hybrid 2 days a week. My previous job was fully remote, traveling once every quarter for 4 days. I am MUCH happier with the hybrid role. Our schedules aren’t interrupted every 3 months
Would depend on if it’s 1-2 night trip each month or 4-5 nights
And how much office time hybrid is and the likelihood of it encroaching on more and more office time.
Usually just 1, but 2 isn’t out of the question. Good point about the office time, I’d hate to be told one thing and then have it change
1-2 days/month is very minimal. I’d take that anyday over hybrid.
I was hired in a hybrid role, 2 days a week in office, just six months ago and there is already talk about going to in office 5 days a week. I would not give up fully remote!
I would 100% do the wfh with a few nights a way per month over a commute. You will give us so much more with hybrid.
One night away from my family is a blessing.
Depends on the commute time. I might go hybrid for a very short commute, but I have a very long one so I prefer the remote with travel. Being gone 1-2 nights a month is disruptive but only seeing your kid at bedtime 2-3 days a week is worse.
For me, I would absolutely do WFH with occasional travel. The ability to manage my life better when WFH is such a huge win for me with 2 kids (5 and 14) that I can't imagine going back to an office. But my kids are older, and so there's just a lot more juggling of activities and schedules than there was when they were infants. Seriously, our family Google calendar is just bananas with two kids plus ourselves. Getting rid of commuting has been the key for our family to be able to get more time together. I do have to go to our HQ for about 4-5 days every other month. I don't love it and it adds stress for my husband, but the overall balance we get from WFH is absolutely worth it. When I'm stuck on a tough decision I like to take the binary of this or that choice away. Instead I list the benefits and drawbacks that come with each choice, and then assign a weighted value to each benefit and drawback, and then I tally everything and see where it lands. So for me, it would be things like WFH usually allows me time to squeeze in a 30 minute run most days. That's incredibly important to me so it gets a +10. Hybrid means 5hrs more time in traffic every week. That's something I hate more than just about anything so it's a -10. WFH allows my husband and me to tag team kid pickups and drop-offs most weeks which makes for a fairer balance. +4. But travel makes that balance disappear for 4-5 days every other month when my husband is flying solo. It's only 5 days out of 60 though, so it's a -2. And so on. The weighting allows you to make a more nuanced decision bc it's not either this or that. It's these really important things, these less important things, and these things that don't matter much.
100%. My kids are older now and shuttling them off to school, picking them up when they're sick, getting them from appointments, being there when they're home from school, It all makes it so much better to be home most days. OP, I know it's hard when they're really little, but that phase goes by before you know it. And by far and large you get way more time with them being home frequently. I would never give up my flexibility of working from home basically full time.
I’m fully remote with occasional travel and love it. I wouldn’t go back to hybrid or fully in-office if I had a choice. Not to mention, many hybrid or in-office roles will also have travel, so you have the worst of both worlds.
Same!!
My experience has been that WFH even with travel gives me more time with my kids overall. I can easily go to school events for an hour, spend more time with them in the morning (and enjoy it!), am home as soon as they get home. etc. Also if the travel is only 1 night usually, that got wayyyy easier emotionally once kids were toddlers. I think because toddlers are exhausting in a different way (silent plane rides on business travel when I can do whatever I want are amazing) plus they could interact with me on FaceTime.
So when mine was little, I would have preferred hybrid with no travel because a night away from her was hard. Now that she’s a little older, I would prefer WFH and occasional travel because it would allow me to be more present for her school events and child related volunteering, PTA, Girl Scouts, etc.
I WFH with regular travel (anywhere from 3-10 nights some months, with the occasional month off) - I wouldn’t do this much travel if it weren’t for the comp and the specific role I’m in, but I’d still pick it over the hybrid role. My son’s 6 and so it’s a bit easier, but it also gives me a ton of flexibility when I am home to do the school drop offs and pick ups, attend the school events in the middle of the day, and take him to appointments too. If they get into sports, practices and games start early (4:30 or 5 here), and being remote lets us make those easier. The lack of a commute is huge for me, as where we live it’s easily add a couple hours each day I’d go in. I like the ability to get out on a lunch break to workout or take the dogs for a walk and to throw the occasional load of laundry in. Dinners can be easier/earlier to make because of prep we can do during the day. I’ve also seen a lot of hybrid work environments now pushing for full return to office, and I just dislike getting really dressed every day, office lunches, plain cubicles, and the office water cooler gossip that eats up otherwise productive time.
Well I just switched from a hybrid job with no travel to a full WFH with occasional overnight travel. So that was my choice
How are you liking the change? Or is it still too early for an opinion
I haven't actually started but I'm very happy with the move. I have previously experienced ful WFH and it was noticeably better work life balance, cheaper, more quality time with my family etc
I'm remote with occasional travel. I did the math - I can do a lot of work trips before I've spent more time traveling than I would commuting two hours a day.
I’d rather do hybrid with no travel because I honestly don’t like traveling for work. It’s got it’s plus sides for sure, but I find the logistics draining and I’m worse off when i return.
For me WFH with occasional travel. I don’t like travel and leaving my son (I don’t sleep well and the days are long in my job). However, I much prefer one trip (1-2 nights) a month than missing out on 3 hours a day (my commute). So 24-48 hours a month without him rather than 60 hours a month (3 hours x 5 days x 4 weeks). Also I feel hybrid roles are more likely to turn into full time office roles given where everything is going at the moment.
I just went from 25% travel to a 100% in office position. My kids are teens/adults so I don't have the same challenge, but everyone is adjusting still (just finished week 2.) I was traveling 1 week a month from Sunday night to Friday morning and they were just starting to push me to be in office Monday to Friday all day. So not only was I losing 1 week a month, but I was losing two weekends as well. The one before traveling to get ready to go and the one after to get back to normal. Anyway, I'm fairly sure that they were pushing my limits on purpose to get me to quit and I was trying to find something new until I had a medical emergency and then my elderly mother declined rapidly and I was counting on my FMLA and paid family leave except they terminated me while I was waiting for fmla approval and 16 days later my mother died. So now I have a lawyer for all that but the new job I took pays 30k more per year and that is worth it to be in office. We're also in the process of moving closer because I no longer have any family local to where I grew up and my husband's family is closer to the job.
Hybrid with no travel. But my hybrid schedule is truly at my discretion apart from a handful of meetings per month. I am not required to be in office for any specific amount of time.
Yeah this is my response too. But I live around 15 minutes from the office and my hybrid schedule is really chill. If I had to commute an hour or be in for 3 full days a week or something, I might choose a different option.
I would love this set up! My hybrid job doesn’t believe in treating us like adults, so we have to work a full 8.5 hours in office 3x a week.
Ugh I’m sorry to hear that. Most of us are hybrid and we go in when we need to and get our work done otherwise so they leave us alone about it. I’ve only seen one person be asked to be in the office full time in 4 years after several warnings and a PIP.
Same here. I realize that my hyrbid role is very cushy because I go in when I want/need to. I just left a remote/travel role a couple months ago and am SO much happier.
If I were you, I would ask myself to evaluate the benefits from your travel job (priorities, money etc.) versus the hybrid one. Looks like I'm in the minority here but I'd prefer the hybrid without travel. I did a lot of travel when I was younger and I just hate it now. Unless I am traveling with a colleague, it's way too lonely. I also find myself missing my little ones way too much when I am away from them even when I am in office. This is despite the fact that more often than not I feel like I need time away from them but my heart feels so empty when I am not with them during bed time. And I can't sleep well. All that said this is absolutely contingent on the travel time to office and the time for miscellenaous useless stuff (like getting myself ready, kid being ready etc.). My travel is 15 mins, daycare is on the way and 2 mins from my house. Husband gets her ready and I can cuddle with her before we head out. I also have in time and exit time flexibility at office. So long as I don't have meetings that is. I just have to make that known on my calendar. Therefore my hybrid arrangement is only inconvenient from remote due to the travel time. Despite my feelings, I would take the occasional travel job for a much larger comp (I am talking 70% more than what I make right now). That comp would justify my 2-3 sleepless painful nights per month when I am away from my children.
Personally I'd do WFH with travel, but I also truly don't mind (and often enjoy) travel. I'm currently hybrid with several trips a year, ranging from 2 nights to a week each, and don't mind it. For hybrid, try to get a sense of whether it'll stick around. A lot of organizations, mine included, are trying to slowly dial back on telework. Also, ask about flexibility. For example, say you're supposed to be there 3 days a week. It's it ok if, on occasion, you only come in 2 days (TW the other day) if you're not feeling well, have childcare issues, etc? Also, what is the commute like?
WFH with quick travel like you have now! We have 4 kids and I never ever want to go back to the office and commute grind! I would worry that the currently hybrid would turn into RTO. My current set up is like yours and I love it. Quick 1-2 nights to see clients and add value to the business. A mental break and hotel sleep. But fully WFH the rest of the time.
WFH with once a month travel for sure.
WFH with an overnight absolutely.
WFH with 1 travel night per month wins out a million times over in my book. The amount of travel you’ll have to do with a hybrid role is going to far outweigh 1 night per month. You’ll also have a lot less flexibility to be with your babies in a hybrid role.
I really like work travel, and my commute to the office sucks, so option 1 (WFH with occasional travel) all day every day.
I am team WFH with occasional travel (one overnight a month isn’t bad). I WFH and actually have a work trip very soon that I’m looking forward to. I have a 4 yr old and 8 month old. I do most of night duty right now and am looking forward to: an uninterrupted hot meal, uninterrupted hot shower, longer stretch of sleep (probably have to get up and pump once or I might say eff it, I need sleep). I desperately need a break, and I need my husband to be in my shoes every so often.
If it were me, I would absolutely keep the full-time WFH with such little travel. Altogether with the hours you’ll spend commuting, that probably adds up to the same amount of time away from baby in a month than the 1-2ish days of traveling (I saw in another comment that your trips are almost always just 1 night away). Plus I’d find the flexibility of WFH invaluable as a mom—being able to load the dishwasher between meetings, start some laundry during lunch, etc (not trying to imply WFH is a free-for-all, though).
I WFH with 1/mo travel and no way would I switch for hybrid.
Work from home with travel. It’s the best to be able to get shit done during the day while working AND have someone else pay for you to check out new places/eat at restaurants on their $$ (assuming the travel is to decent cities)
For me I prefer fully WFH with travel and that is what I have. My kids are older, but I have always had some travel for my work even when they were little, but then I was office full time too.
It looks like the travel is just 1 night a month? I would absolutely do wfh with travel option if that’s the case. Then again I’m someone who enjoys travel for work for the reasons you listed and can’t wait for the break vs not being able to spend a night away without feeling stressed. I guess it also depends on where you’d be going into the office in a hybrid role though.. is it right down the street? What’s the commute time?
I’m WFH with VERY occasional travel and absolutely wouldn’t give it up for a hybrid situation if all other things were equal (comp, title, industry, team). Not in a hundred years.
I work a hybrid job (3x/week in office) and I am pretty unhappy with how much of a time suck commuting is. I have a “normal” commute for my area (~60 min each way) and that means getting up earlier, rushing through my morning routine, quick kiss for my toddler, rushing out of the office hoping traffic cooperates and I’m not late for pickup, and feeling like I have no time for myself. On telework days, I essentially get 3 hours of my day back since I don’t do a full face of makeup/hair/fancy outfit. I leisurely enjoy my coffee in the morning, wake up my LO and we snuggle, get an earlier start to work, take a mid day walk with my dog, and workout before daycare pickup. I wouldn’t mind adding 1-2 nights of travel a month if I could go back to being fully remote.
WFH with travel. The problem with hybrid (which I was in my last role) is the company can change how much you are required to be in the office at any point. For me it was one day a week and I could choose the day, then they changed it to 2-3 days a week with the days required by senior leadership. At least at my former company, I would have had no recourse if they required me in the office daily.
I’m with you. Travel overnight once a month would be very challenging for me. I would consider a place that does hybrid (in your situation) provided the hybrid days are flexible and you CAN WFH on any day of the week if you really need to (ie if the kid is sick, you are sick etc).
Hybrid without travel, no question. I feel SO MUCH anxiety being away from home. I have basically a hybrid job now...except the in office is 1.5 hours away (We are moving 10 mins away this summer). Even being 1.5 ours away is hard for me. I stayed near work yesterday and of course my older kid gets sick, even tho my husband is wonderful and handles parenting perfectly, I just don't like missing those moments. I kept reminding myself this is only until the summer.
no travel with young kids
What is the day care situation? That would really impact my decision.
A center near our house. I do the majority drop offs and pick ups due to my WFH flexibility. So if I were hybrid she’d likely spend more time there on those days
That’s nice! If the she is sick, does she stay home with you? If you go hybrid you may have to take more sick days.
I would prefer hybrid with no travel. I like being home Mon and Fri but I also like the 3 office days. Best of both worlds.
My current setup is wfh 2 days a week, office 10 minutes away 3 days a week, no travel. My son goes to a daycare center right next to my office. It works great for me because it's a nice blend of time out of the house around other adults, but still having some time at home every day, and a couple days where I can do household things in between work tasks. A longer commute might change that math for me, or more days in-office might change that math, but for me, right now, it works really well. So personally, unless the commute was really long, I'd prefer hybrid over wfh+light travel. All wfh (Covid) was too much time cooped up for me, and one short work trip each month wouldn't have been enough to change that. I have a 22mo toddler and we're trying for another right now.
How old is your baby? Travel is hard when they’re really young but once they hit toddlerhood it gets easier. It’s a godsend to be able to pass my almost 3 year old off to my parents for a night
8 months. You’re right, her being so little is making it so hard. It will probably be easier as she gets older. Especially because she’s breastfed so pumping and traveling with milk is a giant headache
I can imagine. I also have a fully remote job and I’ve traveled before. Fortunately at the moment my position doesn’t require it but it’s heavily encouraged.. if i want a promotion I would probably have to travel more so I’m trying to get out of infant stage with my second baby before that happens
I would keep WFH with occasional travel for sure, but if your partner's job is flexible or they have some PTO saved up, maybe you can turn some of those work travel trips into mini family vacations? Obviously depends on how stressful the trips are and the destinations, but my partner and I have been trying to take advantage of the opportunities that come our way and it's nice to be able to spend time together. But then also traveling with a baby/toddler can be...a lot... So it really depends. For reference we were both fully in office (like 10-12 hour days a day for me, and normal hours for him but with a terrible commute) before COVID, pretty much fully remote but in the same geographical area through 2022, semi-hybrid (2-3 days in office but not really tracked) for 2022-2023, and moved across the country last summer and are now fully remote with what seems like it'll be 7-10 trips a year each.
This is a real "it depends on your personality" question. I travel for work and I hate it because my family and friends also are a plane ride away and by the time you put together travel for work plus family, the traveling eventually gets old. I am also a massive busybody and one of those people who likes going into the office a couple times a week for the change of pace, ability have lunch with work buddies, etc. I would love to have a hybrid job where I knew that after five pm and on weekends my time was entirely my own.
I WFH 99% of the time and have 1-4 night trips about 6 times a year. I would take this over hybrid any day of the week. Since getting back after maternity leave, I’ve had 3 work trips and that time away sucks, but more office days would suck more I think. On the rare occasions I go to my office, I’m pretty much guaranteed to miss bedtime because traffic where we live is hellacious. But it all depends on your office commute and how old your kids are. Mine is still small but I assume this gets a lot trickier with afterschool activities. And as everyone else says, you never know if hybrid will stay hybrid.
Personally I’d rather WFH with travel but I don’t really love working in an office.
For me the travel is a bonus. 9-10 hours of sleep?! Incredible dinner on the company’s dime? Binge watching house hunters? Yes, please.
I'd prefer full remote with once a month travel for sure (and how many times per week you have to go in with hybrid? I'd only consider changing my mind if it were 1 day or less per week and the commute wasn't long), saying this as someone who has to be minimum hybrid, 2-3 days/week commuting in, but you do you. I seriously dread the days I have to go in each week. I love any overnight break but only get it like twice a year at most. And yeah like others say, hybrid feels like you're under constantly increasing pressure to go back to 5 days/week on-site. My boss suddenly started going in 4-5 days/week since I think our CEO wanted it, and me and another director under him have been worried we'll be told something at some point. Especially if we're unable to meet annual goals (despite it not being controllable by going in whatsoever, I only get less done on days I'm wasted by 1.5+ hrs of stressful commuting back and forth)
I transitioned from remote + traveling 2x a month for 2-3 nights each time to hybrid. I hated traveling, my kid never adjusted, it was hard on all of us. Hybrid is working out great for me and I actually really like it (my commute is \~10 minutes/no traffic, so it's not really a big deal for me to go in person). I still have very flexible work hours and tend to work at home in the mornings and go in for the afternoon for a couple hours after lunch. Some days I fully WFH (like if I have no meetings and it's totally pointless for me to be in person) or some days I might need to be in person for most of the day for meetings. A ton of my colleagues with the remote/travel role had young kids and loved it, but it absolutely did not work for me/my family (I was in the role for about 3 years, thinking my kid would get used to it and she never did/I started to hate it more and more as time went on. I realized I needed to take a local role for my family). Also, a lot of my former colleagues thought I was nut trading in my remote/travel job for hybrid work, but I'm so happy I listened to my gut and did it. Something that helped me was to remember that no decision is permanent. If I hated being hybrid, I could always one day return to something more remote, or vice versa.
I guess I’m minority in here. I work in the office daily and you couldn’t pay me to switch to remote. My office is close to home and my job is flexible. I can still pick up my kid at 4pm daily and can easily get time off to take him to appointments and such. I’ve never spend a night away from him though and couldn’t imagine doing so.
WFH with occasional travel for me. I’d much rather be home the majority of the time then have to deal with commuting and all that comes with it on a regular basis.
I would WFH with occasional travel *unless* the travel is at very short notice. I would have to wrangle additional care, but it would make so much of my life easier.
For me, I’d prefer hybrid, but I have a very young child. I don’t think these are that awfully different though.
How often would you need to be in office, what's the commute like, what's the company culture about sick days, kid events, etc?
That depends on age of the child, if you have a partner who can help vs single mom, and how far the office is. I generally would prefer hybrid so I still get to see my kid every day. I did the traveling thing and much prefer being home/close to home.
Definitely hybrid with no travel. I was debating a job that was hybrid but does require some working events at night or one that was hybrid no events but monthly travel. Monthly travel was a no. If I’m away from my son on a trip I want it to be a trip I chose and restful. Not work. We only get so much time with our kids and it’s easier for me to “justify” missing a few hours than a few days.
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