Remote Work and Fertility

This chart is about moms, but also matters for dads too.

We had our second child after 2020 and my work became remote. This would not have been possible if I were still working in the office.

Remote work not only gave me 2 hours of commute time back, but enabled me to do daycare pickups on alternate days for our first child. Allowed me more time to be involved with my family and raise our kids. Also matters financially because money spent commuting and getting lunch adds up.

I get more done and have a more flexible schedule since becoming remote. Some downsides but on the whole an improvement. For me at work, productivity is correlated with happiness and job satisfaction.

The change to remote work has been a profound positive change for me and my family. I've heard the same anecdotally from friends and colleagues.

My wife switched to remote during covid times and never went back. I recently calculated she freed around 800 hours a year. Some of it went back into working longer though. And removed the need for dry laundry, and for buying new clothing and accessories on a regular basis. Meals cooked at home and time for regular exercise are also a healthy bonus. All of her colleagues and meetings are remote so doesn’t affect performance. We still don’t plan to have children though.

Someone should @ Elon Musk since he is deeply worried about the lack of kids in the west. Imagine how many smart kids his employees would have if he implemented this.