Working from home allowed him to be a more engaged dad. Now it’s over.

Andrew DiDonato, a building scheme reappraisal master pinch Philadelphia’s Department of Licenses and Inspections, stands adjacent City Hall connected July 22, 2024. After 4 years of moving a hybrid schedule, he’s been called backmost into nan agency 5 days a week. (Rachel Wisniewski for NPR)

Return-to-office policies are getting stricter, upending nan lives of those who had gotten utilized to moving from home.

Employers are stepping up nan number of days their labor request to show up successful person, arguing it promotes stronger societal connections, amended collaboration and fairness successful nan workplace. A study past twelvemonth by nan master services patient KPMG recovered two-thirds of CEOs predicting a afloat return to agency by 2026.

In nan metropolis of Philadelphia, it’s already happening.

This summer, nan city’s caller politician Cherelle Parker made bully connected her committedness to springiness residents a authorities they could “see, touch and feel,” ordering each municipal labor backmost to nan agency 5 days a week.

On July 15, respective 1000 metropolis workers bid farewell to nan hybrid activity schedules they’d had since 2020 and returned to their regular commutes.

Andrew DiDonato takes nan train location from Philadelphia’s Suburban Station connected July 22, 2024. (Rachel Wisniewski for nan NPR)

Remote activity was a tube dream until it became nan caller normal

For Andrew DiDonato, who reviews residential building permits for Philadelphia’s Licenses and Inspections Department, nan commute is 45 minutes to an hr each way, depending connected train delays.

He’d been doing that 2 days a week until past month. The different 3 days, DiDonato worked from home.

It was a schedule he ne'er would person thought imaginable earlier nan pandemic, erstwhile distant activity was thing group would joke about.

“Like nan tube dream of flying cars,” he says.

As luck would person it, his section was fresh to spell afloat online erstwhile nan pandemic hit. Just 2 days earlier COVID concisely shuttered its offices successful March 2020, nan metropolis rolled retired a caller online permitting system, which had been successful nan useful for years. Instead of having to travel successful to use for permits, residents could now do everything online.

The timing couldn’t person been amended for him and for nan city’s residents, each stuck successful their homes.

“Within months, everyone was utilizing it,” says DiDonato.

He quickly recovered he could do his occupation conscionable good connected a hybrid schedule.

What he discovered he was doing amended was parenting. It was a revelation.

Freed from nan regular commute, DiDonato nary longer had to time off nan location each greeting earlier nan kids were awake.

That opened up much options for his woman Ashley, who’d stayed location since their 3rd kid was born. She sewage a part-time occupation moving early mornings astatine a fittingness center.

“It was 1 of those moments wherever thing cleanable falls successful your lap,” she says. “It was precisely what I needed.”

Andrew DiDonato looks connected arsenic his woman Ashley pulls their girl Rosalie’s hairsbreadth backmost to lucifer her dad’s successful their location successful Philadelphia connected July 22, 2024. (Rachel Wisniewski for nan NPR)

Being astir for breakfast, homework, afterschool clubs

Now it was Dad who sewage nan mornings going, getting nan kids up, feeding them meal and talking astir nan time ahead.

“All those other conversations I get to person pinch my kids during those small moments I was gone for,” says DiDonato. “I’m proceeding astir what they’re concerned pinch astir school, what they’re excited for.”

At nan extremity of nan activity day, alternatively of nan tiresome train thrust home, he was helping pinch homework and volunteering pinch after-school clubs. His oldest, 10-year-old Rosalie, joined nan schoolhouse play, nan philharmonic Moana Junior.

Drawing connected his years successful construction, DiDonato built Moana’s vessel for nan set.

“It was a existent life-sized boat,” says Rosalie, beaming astatine her dad.

Andrew DiDonato’s 3 children Rosalie (in achromatic t-shirt), Liliana (sitting) and Massimo (standing) connected nan vessel he built for Rosalie’s schoolhouse play, Moana Junior. (Andrew DiDonato)

The family sewage utilized to this much balanced life.

“It wasn’t thing we had for a mates weeks aliases a mates months,” says DiDonato. “It was 4 years.”

And now, it’s gone. With DiDonato backmost successful nan agency full-time, Ashley has had to trim backmost her hours astatine nan fittingness halfway and prime up a Sunday shift.

“We’re forced backmost into these systems that are nary longer moving for us,” she says. “It feels for illustration it’s taking a measurement backwards.”

The Municipal Services Building wherever Andrew DiDonato useful successful Philadelphia. (Rachel Wisniewski for nan NPR)

City leaders clasp a different philosophy

In Philadelphia, metropolis officials acknowledged nan return-to-office determination wasn’t driven by concerns astir productivity. Rather, it was successful pursuit of what they called a activity philosophy.

Mayor Parker has cited nan galore thousands of metropolis labor — sanitation workers, societal workers, nan h2o section — who ne'er had nan expertise to activity from home.

“I request america each correct now to make a sacrifice for our city,” she said astatine a property convention this summer.

Parker has besides made clear she wants nan city’s return-to-office scheme to beryllium a exemplary for private-sector employers, portion of her effort to make a much economically vibrant Philadelphia.

“That’s nan eventual goal,” she said.

Andrew and Ashley DiDonato pinch their children (from left), Liliana, Rosalie, and Massimo extracurricular their location successful Philadelphia connected July 22, 2024. (Rachel Wisniewski for nan NPR)

“Can’t put nan toothpaste backmost successful nan tube.”

This leaves DiDonato astatine a crossroads.

He’s worked for nan metropolis for 7 years and likes his job. It comes pinch immoderate beautiful awesome benefits, including wellness attraction for nan family, a free train walk and a pension to look guardant to.

But these days, he’s asking himself: Is each that worthy nan cherished family clip he’s giving up? After surviving nan hybrid life for 4 years, he’s not judge he tin spell without.

“It’s 1 of those things wherever you can’t put nan toothpaste backmost successful tube,” he says.