COWORKING WITH CHILD CARE

Hybrid spaces are attracting a new wave of remote workers as parents of young children search for work-life balance

For first-time parents Michelle and Kreg Hanning, the pandemic smudged the lines between work and home life in a way they couldn’t have anticipated. The couple thought they could manage to take care of their 10-month-old son, Leon, while also working remotely in the same room — but it’s been tough.

“We thought it would be easy between both of us being there and both of us feeling like we have pretty flexible jobs,” said Hanning, who works as a web analyst while her husband works for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “It was just really hard to do both effectively. I felt like we were kind of choosing one or the other and then it ended up being like we’re working all day.”

Not long after Hanning returned from maternity leave in January, it felt like she had exhausted all of her options.

She turned to a Facebook group of local moms to ask for recommendations on day care. That’s when a fellow mom pointed her to a coworking space that also offered child care all-in-one. It struck Hanning as a brilliant solution to their problem.

“You feel really pulled in both directions,” she said. “I want to continue to grow in my career and do well there, but I also want (my son) to have the absolute best of everything that he can have … I don’t want to sacrifice anything — I want everything for him.”

The concept of a hybrid coworking space with child care baked in isn’t new. But, it’s no coincidence that they are attracting a new wave of remote workers as a result of the pandemic.

The flexibility of working from home also came with a strain on the time and attention of parents, especially mothers.

A recent survey by Mckinsey and Company found that 45 percent of mothers with children ages 5 and under who left the workforce during the pandemic cited child care as a major reason, compared to 14 percent of fathers who said the same.

Many of the women who had to cut back hours or leave the workforce entirely are eager to get back. But that still doesn’t solve the issue of expensive child care in our new hybrid workplace.

In San Diego County, the average cost for a spot at a licensed child care facility is $12,900 to $19,500 a year. On average, a San

ADRIANA HELDIZ U-T PHOTOS TOP: Joon Son plays with his daughter Maddi at The New Haven, a coworking and child care space at Liberty Station. ABOVE: Mirela Sabanovic Lewis and Aldisa Sabanovic co-founded Fandory Factory, a child play zone and coworking space for parents in Rancho Bernardo.