‘Your wife is here with your child, and I have a meeting in 7 min’: Remote employee stands up to the boss when the boss's entitled wife treats them like a free babysitter for their 6-year-old

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Oct 31, 2025 6:00 PM EDT

An executive boss's wife was under the impression that her husband's employees would do anything she asked, even if it was waaay out of their job description. After she discovered that he had an employee working fully remote, she decided to take work delegation into her own hands, assigning this WFH employee the most daunting task of all: Babysitting her 6-year-old. 

Although this remote worker was just a simple office employee, apparently, because they handled their duties from the comfort of their home, that meant they had an infinite amount of time to babysit… For free!

Alas, this hardworking employee wouldn't stand for it, calling out her boss for his wife's behavior and professionally keeping tally of all the receipts, just in case they tried to turn against her and retaliate. However, when it's not in your job description to provide childcare for your boss, that's not your job to follow up on it. 

Maybe he can "circle back" and hire an actual professional childcare worker. You know, someone whose job it is to care for children. 

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  • Cheezburger Image 10570170880
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  • "My boss’s wife thought I was her free babysitter because I WFH"

    So I work remote for a small company, like 14 people, my boss and his wife both know I'm usually home. I made the mistake of mentioning on a
    via 6P1cklePond6
  • Zoom that I had finished my tasks early and was doing laundry while I waited for a client to reply. Apparently that translated in her head to "I am totally free during the day and love doing domestic stuff."
    via 6P1cklePond6
  • Last week she TEXTED me from his phone asking if I could "keep an eye" on their 6 year old for 2 hours while she ran some errands because "you're home anyway." I said no, I'm working. She replied "but you sit at the computer."
    via 6P1cklePond6
  • Cheezburger Image 10570170624
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  • Then Friday she literally showed up at my apartment building with the kid. I didn't buzz her in, I called my boss and said your wife is here with your child and I have a
    via 6P1cklePond6
  • meeting in 7 min. He sounded embarrassed and said he'd handle it. 5 min later I got a passive aggressive email from her personal acct saying she "didn't realize my job was so
    via 6P1cklePond6
  • fragile" and that "real office jobs are more flexible." I sent it straight to him. Today he apologized and said she won't contact me again, but also asked if I could be "more
    via 6P1cklePond6
  • understanding because childcare is expensive." I told him remote work isn't me being on call for his family. If this costs me the job I'll just post the screenshots.
    via 6P1cklePond6
  • Hot-Freedo... If this costs you your job, you should report it to the Department of Labor.
    via Hot-Freedo
  • Cybermagetx • Yeah your boss is a major AH. You are not paid to be child care.
    via Cybermagetx
  • Silver_Reach_9540 "NO" is a complete sentence. If it's not in your job description it's not one of your tasks. She thinks that her position as his wife grants her some authority over your activities.
    via Silver_Reach_9540
  • Due_Cricket1885. Childcare is indeed expensive but I imagine your boss can afford it
    via Due_Cricket1885
  • halley823. Is your boss the owner of the company? Maybe they should consider offering in office daycare and hire someone to watch kids at the office.
    via halley823
  • scarletwellyboots ⚫ Good on you for standing your ground! I highly recommend you start looking for another job if you can though, because those are some red flags flying there.
    via scarletwellyboots
  • I hope everyone here who works remotely learns from your story never to mention you have free time during work hours it will p much - always result in someone trying to give you more work to do for the same pay.
    via scarletwellyboots
  • dembowthennow Good for you, but never mention doing domestic tasks during working hours to any of your colleagues or superiors again.
    via dembowthennow
  • Late-Statistician1... . Make sure to post the screenshots. These bosses need to be held accountable for their bad behavior.
    via Late-Statistician1

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childcare boss worker babysitter employee manager job work coworkers working ceo employees babysitting supervisor workplace company coworker business
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