Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women • Hacker News Board

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#41

Post by BWStearns » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 3:49 PM UTC

bombcar wrote: post #11

I wonder what percentage was fueled by a dual income household being forced to single income and realizing that they could handle it well enough - and the non-working spouse deciding to not bother returning to the workforce?

That's apparently one big driver in the labor shortage. Childcare costs were so high that when everyone was home people realized the second job wasn't actually that useful and now there's one stay-at-home parent (seems weighted towards mothers[0]).

[0] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/01/14/some-gender...

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#42

Post by lotsofpulp » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 3:49 PM UTC

throwaway09223 wrote: post #31

lotsofpulp wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I cannot imagine that, babies and toddlers require attention frequently and randomly. Unless you have zero meetings, loose deadlines, and very asynchronous contact with the rest of the business, it would be a very difficult balance. Might work for first 6 months when all they do is sleep, eat, and lay around, but as soon as they are moving or aware that they can get things they want, predictability goes out the windo…

Have you not attended meetings with parents taking care of babies? I sure have. People do difficult things all the time. It's especially manageable if both parents are WFH.

Yes, and it is not ideal.

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#43

Post by abcc8 » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 3:51 PM UTC

gadders wrote: post #15

hanoz wrote: post #5

Not entirely surprising with so many couples suddenly at home all day, with any children at school.

I just hope they remembered to turn their cameras off.

And mute their microphones.

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#44

Post by __turbobrew__ » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 3:55 PM UTC

throwaway09223 wrote: post #31

lotsofpulp wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I cannot imagine that, babies and toddlers require attention frequently and randomly. Unless you have zero meetings, loose deadlines, and very asynchronous contact with the rest of the business, it would be a very difficult balance. Might work for first 6 months when all they do is sleep, eat, and lay around, but as soon as they are moving or aware that they can get things they want, predictability goes out the windo…

Have you not attended meetings with parents taking care of babies? I sure have. People do difficult things all the time. It's especially manageable if both parents are WFH.

I have attended meetings with people who had to remain muted the entire time due to their kid screaming at the top of their lungs constantly. Its not great

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#45

Post by ShamelessC » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 3:57 PM UTC

BWStearns wrote: post #41

bombcar wrote: post #11

I wonder what percentage was fueled by a dual income household being forced to single income and realizing that they could handle it well enough - and the non-working spouse deciding to not bother returning to the workforce?

That's apparently one big driver in the labor shortage. Childcare costs were so high that when everyone was home people realized the second job wasn't actually that useful and now there's one stay-at-home parent (seems weighted towards mothers[0]). [0] https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/01/14/some-gender...

Your source doesnt support your narrative.

> What accounts for the larger labor force withdrawals among less-educated women than men during the pandemic? It is complex but there seems to be a consensus that it partly reflects how women are overrepresented in certain health care, food preparation and personal service occupations that were sharply curtailed at the start of the pandemic. Although women overall are more likely than men to be able to work remotely, they are disproportionately employed in occupations that require them to work on-site and in close proximity to others.

> It is less clear whether women’s parental roles and limited child care and schooling options have played a large role in forcing them to exit the labor market. The number of mothers and fathers in the labor force has declined in similar fashion over the past two years.

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#46

Post by chrisBob » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 4:00 PM UTC

PaulHoule wrote: post #9

hdjjhhvvhga wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In what respect?

Taking care of a child takes up your time, it's a job. Most babies spend a lot of time sleeping so you can probably get some work done, but if your child needs you you are going to have to drop what you're doing. There is no problem if you are honest about this and your employer accepts it, but just as somebody can hold multiple jobs and not come clean about it, it seems like a parent could also dissemble about it.

What is the right way to discuss that at an interview? Discussing the applicant's family is typically off limits, but if the goal is to work and be a parent then you must have that conversation early.

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#47

Post by jimbob45 » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 4:00 PM UTC

chatterhead wrote: post #36

Quoted post unavailable.

You get $3,600 yearly for having a kid. That’s just not nearly enough to adequately raise a child, let alone fund the changes in your own life from getting to raise a child.

It should be no surprise that women need some extra financial assistance when it comes to raising children.

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#48

Post by zeroonetwothree » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 4:01 PM UTC

__turbobrew__ wrote: post #44

throwaway09223 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you not attended meetings with parents taking care of babies? I sure have. People do difficult things all the time. It's especially manageable if both parents are WFH.

I have attended meetings with people who had to remain muted the entire time due to their kid screaming at the top of their lungs constantly. Its not great

There is some AI now that can filter this type of background noise.

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#49

Post by zeroonetwothree » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 4:02 PM UTC

stingraycharles wrote: post #37

throwaway09223 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you not attended meetings with parents taking care of babies? I sure have. People do difficult things all the time. It's especially manageable if both parents are WFH.

I have not, and it may be my lack of understanding, but I don’t think taking care of babies during a meeting is a good thing. Unless you and I have very different types of meetings, the ones I have are usually short and focused and I would be very annoyed if someone was constantly interrupted or distracted (just like I would be if someone is constantly checking their phone).

I guess the question is would you rather have this employee that is sometimes distracted or no one at all.

Re: Remote work may have fueled a baby boom among U.S. women

#50

Post by z9znz » Wed, Oct 19, 2022, 4:03 PM UTC

It certainly revitalized the term "nooner"!

Oh, and that weekly "all company" meeting where everyone is there but only the presenter camera is on?... you have no idea what is happening during the boring round of every team manager promoting the this or that which their team was up to.