Boss's wife tries to drop off her 6-year-old at employee's house because she works from home: 'She literally showed up at my apartment building with the kid. I didn’t buzz her in.'

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Nov 2, 2025 10:00 AM EST

Working from home is just as valid as working in person… You just happen to be at home. You still have all of your responsibilities and tasks, you just do them from a desk in your house instead of doing them at a desk in your office. That certainly doesn't mean you have time for another job on top of your existing work-from-home job. And childcare is a whole other job. Anyone who tries to tell you anything different is lying to you. Kids take a lot out of you, and that takes away from your job. It's why we pay nannies and babysitters-- we realize how big a job it is. 

It certainly isn't a good idea to spring childcare on your employees at the last minute. That isn't a great managerial tactic. If you've got kids, it's you're responsibility to take care of them. It's not anyone else's. It's certainly not your employee's responsibility. Sure, you pay them. But you pay them to do their jobs, you don't pay them to babysit your progeny. 

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  • A woman tries to work from home while a child plays with her computer.
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • But that's what happened to one employee who was shocked to learn that her boss's wife was at her front door with a kid in tow. She saw this as a major breach of privacy, and quickly turned to her boss, who shut it down. But she was left wondering whether or not she was in the right. Read on to see what happened. 

  • My boss's wife thought I was her free babysitter because l 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 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
    via u/6P1cklePond6
  • free during the day and love doing domestic stuff." 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 u/6P1cklePond6
  • 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 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 fragile" and
    via u/6P1cklePond6
  • 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 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 u/6P1cklePond6

  • Commenters agreed that this wasn't a great idea.

    CocoaAlmondsRock 39m ago • Good for you for sticking to your guns! I hope your boss doesn't retaliate.
    via u/CocoaAlmondsRock
  • A woman in a while long sleeved shirt sits on a couch working from home.
    via A. C.

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Hot-Freedom-5886 37m ago If this costs you your job, you should report it to the Department of Labor.
    via u/Hot-Freedom-5886
  • Cybermagetx • 37m ago Yeah your boss is a major AH. You are not paid to be child care.
    via u/Cybermagetx
  • Silver_Reach_9540.33m ago "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. This happens a lot with military wives assuming they hold their husbands rank. It doesn't work out for them either. Keep on shining up that awesome spine of yours!
    via u/Silver_Reach_9540
  • Due_Cricket1885.32m ago Childcare is indeed expensive but I imagine your boss can afford it
    via u/Due_Cricket1885
  • dembowthennow • 27m ago Good for you, but never mention doing domestic tasks during working hours to any of your colleagues or superiors again.
    via u/dembowthennow
  • defeated_husband 34m ago The lion, the witch and the audacity of this bitch!
    via u/defeated_husband
  • PerspectiveNo369 35m ago What is wrong with people?? I'm so sorry they've put you in such a difficult situation →→
    via u/PerspectiveNo369
  • halley823.34m ago 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 u/halley823
  • Ofluffythe Oferocious 25m ago • Yeah, this is a huge abuse of power, and it looks like your boss understands what his wife tried to do was that. Or he knows that she could get him in a lot of trouble, like him losing his job and sued.
    via u/0fluffythe0ferocious
  • solomons-marbles 29m ago Keep everything. You put her in her place and she's pissed. She's the one sleeping next to him, not you. Juggling nepo- office politics is hard, I've been there. She is going to make your work life miserable. GL!
    via u/solomons-marbles
  • . Nukegm426 • 23m ago Simple, tell him you'd gladly watch his kid, your hourly rates are double your current salary with a 8 hr minimum and the agreement that during those times you are unavailable for your current job.
    via u/Nukegm426
  • Rugged Hangnail · 23m ago Let me guess: you're a woman/lady. I would be surprised if they would treat a man like this.
    via u/RuggedHangnail
  • Specialist-Set-1093 24m ago If he's insistent about the whole thing, I'd charge a horrifically large amount of money per hour, like $300, just so they get the picture. And if they will give you that, congratulations on making an extra $300 an hour XD but
    via u/Specialist-Set-1093
  • yeah, that's ridiculous that the wife thought you'd do free child care and I agree with what the other users are saying, if it makes you uncomfortable, take screenshots and take it to L&I, because HR is for the company and not it's employees
    via u/Specialist-Set-1093
  • Late-Statistician133 33m ago . Make sure to post the screenshots. These bosses need to be held accountable for their bad behavior.
    via u/Late-Statistician133
  • Outside_Frosting... • 25m ago The audacity! Does she know if you are a safe person for her kids for example or if your house is safe for her kid? Etc
    via u/Outside_Frosting9957
  • scarletwellyboots · 34m ago 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 u/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 u/scarletwellyboots

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boss work from home antiwork workplace-stories toxic-workplace job bosses work coworkers working reddit story toxic-boss wfh workplace reddit thread bad bosses Reddit toxic-work-environment
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