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Updated: Apr 18, 2021 87 Comments · by

Washable Workwear Wednesday: Erica Dress

Machine-Washable Work Clothes· Recent Recs

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A woman wearing an Erica Dress

At first glance, this dress doesn’t look like it could be machine washable, but it is! I love how the dress is full coverage (long length, full sleeves, round neck) but still seems breezy and fun. I really love how the folds of the top and bottom meet the waistband of this dress, and I can see it being flattering both on curves and a more straight shape. I like how the pattern and cut of this dress give it movement — the two small “ticker” patterns seem wearable, but the “rainbow multi stripe” seems more for the bold or fashion bloggers among us. The dress is $190 at Boden and is available in sizes 2–22 in petite, regular, and long. Erica Dress

A more affordable option is from Anne Klein — it comes in sizes 0–16 and is on sale for $111.75. Eloquii has a plus-size alternative for $99.95 that is available in sizes 14–28

Looking for other washable workwear? See all of our recent recommendations for washable clothes for work, or check out our roundup of the best brands for washable workwear.

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Sales of Note…

(See all of the latest workwear sales at Corporette!)

Kid/Family Sales

  • J.Crew – 25-40% off kids’ styles; extra 50% off select sale
  • Lands’ End – Up to 40% off your order
  • Hanna Andersson – 30% off all kids’ & baby clothing; PJs on sale from $25; up to 75% off clearance
  • Carter’s – Rule the School Sale: Up to 50% off; up to 40% off baby essentials
  • Old Navy – 50% off back-to-school styles; 30% off your order, even clearance
  • Target – Backpacks from $7.99; toddler & kids’ uniforms on sale from $5
  • Pottery Barn Baby – Summer sale: up to 50% off
  • Nordstrom – Limited time sales on brands like Maxi-Cosi and Bugaboo.
  • Strolleria – Free infant seat car adapter with any Thule stroller; 30% off all Peg-Perego gear in our exclusive Incanto Collection

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About April

April is a working mom, a longtime reader of CorporetteMoms, and wrote our morning fashion advice for working moms from April 2018 to October 2020. She has one child (born 2/17!) and she’s a public interest lawyer in NYC.

Comments

  1. Boston Legal Eagle says

    To the WWYD poster from yesterday – I take it you’re in Mass? I believe the recommendation from the state is to encourage anyone whose is more at risk and who can work from home to do so, so I would probably WFH in your shoes, given the “pre-existing condition” of pregnancy.

    I feel like there is so much conflicting information out there on this and the situation is changing so quickly that I’m not sure what to do. I take public transit and am still planning on coming in until told otherwise but maybe that’s not the right approach? Selfishly, I just want to avoid feeling stir crazy by being cooped up in my house with no social interaction for too long. What’s everyone else in MA doing?

    • Anon says

      I just went back and read your post. In your shoes, my biggest concern would be the public transportation, not your office, assuming you have your own personal office you can hang out in and you are not in a cube farm. I saw that you don’t have a car. Is it possible to get a cheap beater that you sell after this blows over? I’m thinking like a used $5000 Toyota Corolla. I understand parking in Boston can be super expensive and difficult too though. I have no idea how much a multi week car rental would cost.

      My concern would be going against the grain if the people in your office aren’t taking it seriously. Obviously, you have to look out for you but it would be great if you could get a few other immunocompromised people together and you all go to WFH together so it isn’t just you.

    • Anonymous says

      I’m not in Boston, but am in DC. I’m 6 weeks pregnant and have an initial ultrasound this week (because….IVF), and I’m planning to talk to my boss about teleworking if the ultrasound goes well. I’m immune compromised and have asthma that becomes severe when I get any sort of respiratory infection, so I’m concerned about how this could play out if I get sick. If I was “just” pregnant or “just” had the asthma/respiratory issues – I don’t think I’d make this choice… but the combo puts me over the top. FWIW, I don’t use public transportation….I drive every day and have a private office, and I’m still making this choice. I don’t, however, work in Big Law (anymore).

        • Anonymous says

          I plan to telework until the threat of infection and possible complications subsides. I don’t think that will be nine months from now. But, given our generous telework policy, if it IS nine months…I don’t expect it to be an issue with my supervisor. I recognize that it’s a fortunate position to be in.

      • WWYD? says

        Thanks for the responses! I am in MA. I decided to work from home, at least for today, while I mull this over more. I am going to check in with my doctor’s office today on what they advise.

        I could get a car or Uber to work, but I don’t love the idea of spending hundreds to thousands of dollars per month on parking, the car, gas, tolls etc. if I can avoid it. Plus the chances of getting in an accident may still be higher than the chances of getting COVID-19, I haven’t looked into that!

        To the poster who has asthma, sorry you’re in that position. I think it totally makes sense for people with asthma to WFH, especially when you are in the first trimester when a fever is riskier to the baby.

        • Anon says

          I hear you! I just know that my small law firm looks askance whenever us lawyers don’t want to spend our own money on something, particularly because we are “well compensated.” I’d suspect it is even worse in big law. That said, my office is in the suburbs and everyone has to have a car in order to get to court and depositions and mediations. My work culture may be totally different from yours because of that.

        • Anon says

          Rent a car or do a short-term lease. Parking in Boston is expensive, but with the lack of traffic, you should be able to get in early and get early-bird rates. I suggest the roof of 100 Clarendon, the Motor Mart garage, or 660 Washington St.

  2. Tall maternity clothes?? says

    Do these not exist? Even stores with both tall sizes and maternity options don’t seem to carry maternity options in tall; if they do, it’s all legging and athletic wear, nothing work appropriate. What have other tall women done?

    So far I’m managing to squeeze myself into regular pants, but that isn’t going to work much longer.

    • Anonymouse says

      I had to wear dresses because of this problem. Many of the standard Motherhood Maternity ones (at Macys, etc) were ok from a length standpoint, and they’re washable, … and that’s about the only good things to say about them. But they functioned, some times paired with a blazer.

      And in the winter I paired with leggings which functioned as tights – under boots you couldn’t tell they were several inches too short.

      Now in pregnancy #2, curious if anyone has found better options.

      • Anonymous says

        +1 for dresses. Maternity dresses tend to run longer in the skirt, and the waist placement doesn’t really matter because there is no waist. I wore my pre-pregnancy jackets on top.

        At the end of my pregnancy my tops were all too short to cover my belly, and I had to wear a really long stretchy maternity cami or a belly band underneath.

      • Anon says

        Agreed. Gap and Old Navy carried talls. I found two pairs of tall black and grey bootcut cotton pants that I just paired with more formal tops to dress them up.

    • Anon says

      Pinkblush has a category for ‘tall-friendly’ styles. It’s not always easy to tell what’s long, and you’ll have to dig for work-appropriate things, but at least they have easy returns.

      But also, I agree on the dresses. Depending on where you live, you’ll appreciate the dresses over pants even more once the weather warms up.

    • Bette says

      I am tall and currently pregnant. Old Navy and Gap seem to be the only two retailers with tall pants and both of those were mostly sold out. I basically ordered like 15 pairs of pants from them online and kept the four that fit the best (two jeans and two work-ish pants good enough for my not very fancy office – would not have flown when I worked at a dressier firm.)

      https://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=687472002&cid=1014425&pcid=1014425&vid=1&grid=pds_12_47_1&cpos=12&cexp=1461&cid=CategoryIDs%3D1014425&cvar=10815&ctype=Listing&cpid=res20031107967690896227811#pdp-page-content

      These are my favorite pants that I have. Another pregnant tall friend agrees.

      For shirts, I’ve found that isabelle olivier shirts have long in the torso and sleeves and work for me.

      Good luck and congrats!

    • lsw says

      ASOS had some tall maternity options in addition to those listed above. Also, I was due in July, and I got some ankle pants from LOFT that I basically wore every day they weren’t in the wash.

      • KW says

        I did this too. I actually found some Loft ankle pants on ebay my first pregnancy that I wore to death. JC Penney used to have some tall, full length maternity dress pants online, but that was 8+ years ago. Not sure what the selection is now. I stuck to mostly dresses for this reason.

    • Anon says

      This is my second pregnancy, and I finally found two pairs of long inseam pants at a boutique called “Mom’s the Word.” One is a pair of house brand black trousers, the other is a pair of Citizens of Humanity maternity jeans. The salesperson told me both were marked down on sale because customers found them too long! Maybe all Citizens jeans are like that, but I just didn’t want to pay full price? So I’d recommend checking their boutiques/online store or trolling Poshmark in a few weeks for these exact pants after I deliver :)

  3. anon says

    Feeling genius this morning. We just bought new Tupperware to replace our old, beat up set. I was about to throw out the old containers and feel bad about plastic waste when I thought ‘what am I doing?’ And gave several of them to the nine-month-old, who thought it was second Christmas.

    • Anonymous says

      Perfect! I told my husband we should not buy our kids (3-7) any more toys, because 90% of the time they play with
      1. pillows & blankets
      2. sticks
      3. rocks
      4. Any container that holds water to help them make mud
      5. Anything that makes noise when hit and can be turned into a percussion instrument

    • Cb says

      Amazing. I drew a track on a big cardboard box and my son has played with it for weeks. Pushes his cars around, builds villages around the road etc.

  4. AwayEmily says

    To the people who gave me advice about my early-rising 2yo yesterday…THANK YOU! Last night I gave him a tablespoon of nut butter before bed, and when he woke up at 5 I went in and covered him with a blanket and — miracle of miracles — he eventually went back to sleep until the civilized hour of 6:15! Who knows if I can repeat the magic but seriously, I can’t thank you guys enough. Both for the advice and for the commiseration.

    • Anonymous says

      Yes!!! Fingers crossed it. I found that if you do it enough it helps form a habit.

  5. TheElms says

    How are folks planning to manage the various WFH and daycare/school closures mismatch? My daycare is downtown and DH and I both work downtown. Both in Biglaw. At the moment both of our offices are open and daycare is open. My guess is that will change at some point in the next week or two (DMV – we have cases in the area and it seems like only a matter of time until covid-19 shows up at one of our offices or daycare). We have no local family and all family we do have is 70+ with pre-existing health conditions and currently in states without covid-19 cases. I’m not keen to ask them to travel and even if we did I’m not sure any of them can look after our 9 month old on their own for more than a day at a time. None of our backup care options will work if the reason the office or daycare is closed is because of covid-19.

    While I don’t love the idea of the office closing and daycare being open I could do the commute round trip twice a day. It would be between 2 and 2 1/2 hours total commuting time. Would I be nuts to try to work from WeWork if they are open or a coffee shop?

    If daycare closes and work stays open or goes WFH (most likely scenario) I think I’ll have to take FMLA leave. I can get small amounts of work done during naps (but we often only get one 2 hour nap) and before kiddo wakes up and after she goes to bed, but its not going to be anywhere near the 10-12 hour days I typically put in. Does anyone have any other suggestions I haven’t considered?

    • Anonymous says

      When DH and I are stuck working from home and kids are home, we trade off working in 2 hour time blocks. Like 9-11, 11-1, 1-3,3-5, 5-7. 11-1 person does lunch, 5-7 person does dinner and we both do bedtime and log back on for 9-11. It’s a PITA but most matters can wait two hours for a response. Working person hides in master bedroom as we dinner have a home office.

      • Cb says

        Yes, I think this is our plan. A daily schedule, which includes outside time, baths, screentime, and all the pinterest-y toddler activities. My husband will likely have lots of phone calls as he’s got the duty phone for his government building but things can be redirected.

      • Coach Laura says

        I think you could expand this or modify it. The two hour alternating slots would work well for many. Other people cover it by one person working 6am-1pm and the other working 1pm-8pm, depending on whether you’re West Coast covering/interacting with East Coast/Stock Market opening time or East Coast interacting with Europe or West Coast interacting with Asia. Depends on nap schedules and how sleeping patterns overlap. It also matters if you need big blocks of time to be productive or how fast you have to reply to questions before the sh!t hits the fan. And if you can answer emails on your phone as a stop-gap. (2 hours is pretty short to write a memo/brief/analysis and if I started a two hour shift, the time would be up before I really settled into a groove.)

    • Anonymous says

      No suggestions, but I’ve been very concerned about this. The message from my office so far is “if daycare closes you can work from home” but, well, I can’t really bill much and watch a 7-month-old all day. So I have no idea what the solution is! But I do take comfort in the fact that many people have kids and would be in the same situation, so work would just be slower for everyone.

      • Anonymous says

        Our official policy is that you cannot work from home while caring for a child. So theoretically, if day care closes and you can’t trade off with a spouse, you have to take PTO.

        • Anon says

          a lot of offices i’ve heard are being a bit more flexible about this under these circumstances

          • Anon says

            I think they will have to be. Working a few hours a day is better for the company than going to zero productivity for days/weeks at a time. At least you can keep moving some projects forward.

          • Anonymous says

            My employer’s perspective is that it is best to intimidate employees into coming into the office no matter the risk. (See our blizzard and hurricane policy: The office never closes.) Second best is to force them to exhaust PTO and then take unpaid leave. We definitely cannot get away with just working from home a few hours a day.

          • Anon says

            Sounds like a great employer. Good thing that’s not the norm among organizations. Have fun with that.

    • Anonymous says

      I would have your husband work from home too, and trade off working and child care. Assuming nap is 1 – 3 p.m., one parent could work 6 a.m. – 3 p.m. and the other 1 p.m. – 10 p.m. Or you could trade off in two-hour shifts.

    • Anonymous says

      If your office closes it is beyond stupid to them go ahead and work near other people in a coffee shop or WeWork. Why do you have to take leave instead of your husband?

      • TheElms says

        My husband is a partner and I don’t believe FMLA applies to partners. I’m still an associate, so its an option I have.

        • TheElms says

          Also, is it so crazy to do WeWork? Its about $1000 a month in DC to get a fully private lockable office. If only my husband and I were using it, I don’t think the risk would be that much higher than staying home.

    • TheElms says

      Trading / adjusting hours only works to the extent we don’t have calls or can move the calls. Hopefully people will be more flexible, but so far I’m not seeing any flexibility.

      • Anonymous says

        It’s a lot easier to watch a kid while on a call than while doing actual work. Unless you are the one doing most of the talking, you can put the phone on mute and take a few notes while holding the baby on your lap.

          • Anon says

            I WFH one day a week – my husband is home watching kiddo on that day. For calls where I am the one doing all the talking, we swap floors (e.g., I’m upstairs and they’re downstairs or the opposite). Otherwise kiddo would be trying to break down the door to get into the room I’m in. For calls that I’m not doing all the talking, kiddo typically plays on the floor in whatever room I’m in.

    • Anon says

      a lot of college students are being called home and if high schools close, could you find someone to come over for a few hours to entertain the kids and play with them in the yard? I realize this is not an option if the area goes under quarantine (my parents live in the area and we are supposed to visit in early April) but since it would only be adding one other person, idk if that is ok? i understand that with a quarantine you aren’t supposed to leave your home (right?), but if it is not a full quarantine – can you still go for a walk in the neighborhood? i’m guessing we aren’t supposed to take kids to the playground? i find the communication on how exactly this virus spreads and what we can do to help contain it to be very confusing

      • Lyssa says

        That was going to be my suggestion, too – a student (college or high school, if the local schools close) would be fairly low risk. Ask around of your neighbors – preferably it would be someone who lives nearby.

        • TheElms says

          Hadn’t thought of this – I had assumed they would be busy doing school remotely — but definitely worth asking.

          • Anon says

            i think they will be doing work remotely, but i don’t think they will be doing it 24/7.

            if schools and daycares close – should you then not take your kids to the park, zoo, museum, etc.?

          • Boston Legal Eagle says

            If it’s a true lockdown, I would think zoos, museums, etc. will be closed to prevent large crowds from gathering and to keep those workers home. Playgrounds might be ok as there are fewer people at once, but who knows. A week ago I would have thought it ridiculous that this could be imposed here, but now, I’m not so sure…

          • Anonymous says

            Zoos and museums are definitely going to close, if it gets bad enough that schools are shutting. Playgrounds won’t close, but if you’re supposed to keep 1-2 m away from other people…

    • So Anon says

      Curious how one could take FMLA in this situation? If you or a child is sick, I understand, but I’m not sure FMLA is available on the grounds that daycare/work is closed.

      • TheElms says

        I meant FMLA for the event kid is sick, otherwise it would be unpaid leave.

    • So Anon says

      On the substantive question – when I have to WFH and my kids are present (they are 6 and 9), I generally work in chunks throughout the day. I try and get time in before they get up and during their laze on the couch and eat phase (5am-8:30/9am) then some time mid-day (noon-2) and then after bed (8pm-10/11pm). It is not ideal, but I do manage to get some work done.

    • Strat mom says

      What about hiring a college student who is unexpectedly home from school bc if the covid cancellations?

  6. ALC says

    Y’all, we reluctantly tried cry-it-out last night, after six nights of increasingly inconsolable crying. It seems like it worked! Knock on wood, but baby only cried 11 minutes when we put him down at bedtime. He woke up once in the night, and I gave him a bottle, rocked him and sang one song and put him back down, and he only cried 7 minutes before falling back asleep.

    • Anon says

      I am so jealous. My kid cries for more than 11 minutes over getting the wrong yogurt for breakfast….

    • Anon says

      Congrats!! That’s amazing. So much easier when there isn’t tons of crying. It took us two full weeks to get positive consistent results, but after that, things were way, way easier.

  7. Knope says

    Just a minor vent – why do manufacturers only put TV characters on the clothing of the gender that corresponds with that character? My just turned 3 year old boy loves Doc McStuffins – he’s going through a big “I want to be a doctor” stage – and asked for a Doc McStuffins shirt. But all of the clothes with her on it are pink/purple, often frilly girls’ clothes. While I would be fine with DS wearing a shirt from the girls’ section, he apparently has absorbed gender norms and doesn’t want things that look stereotypically girly. Really annoying that girl characters seem to be segregated into the girls-only section when they have significant cross-appeal.

  8. WWYD Preschool Edition says

    We have a first world problem that I would love your opinion on. I have 3 boys ages 6, 4, and 7 months. Our 6 and 4 yo go to a private school mixed aged kindergarten. We decided to do half days this year bc my DH and I were on leave for most of the school year and then we were getting a nanny. Our nanny picks up the big boys from school at 12:30 and brings them home. Round trip it ends up being an hour to drive to school, pick them up, and drive home.

    Next year our 6yo will move to full day 1st grade. We can’t decide if we should keep the 4yo in half days or switch him to full. Full days at kindergarten include lunch, nap, and more outside play. It’s an extra $350 per month to have him in full days.

    Pros of half days: $350 per month to spend on other things (our budget isn’t super tight but this also isn’t pennies to us), no nap for the 4yo (he sometimes needs one, but is also a terrible sleeper at night when he has one).

    Pros of full days: I can’t imagine what my 4yo will do at home without his brother (so, no bored 4yo is the pro), my 7mo will not have to ride in the car for 2 pick ups. More time for nanny to help around the house. We LOVE our nanny but my 4yo is a challenge to have around. However, he does great at school.

    WWYD? Registration deadlines are coming up, so we have to decide soon.

    • anne-on says

      If you really can swing it, I’d do the full days. It truly does help with the transition to 1st, and frees up your nanny to do more around the house chores/focus on the little guy. I’d be prepared for some rough mornings/evenings as your 4yo gets used to the longer days.
      What helped us was designating a set ‘easy’ dinner on Thursday and Friday nights I know they would eat (they are just SO wiped and not fighting about what was for dinner was a huge plus) and to prepare for those to be quiet nights (ie – do homework early in the week if you can, and no after school stuff those days if you can help it so they can just come home, play, eat, take a bath, and crash out).

    • Anonymous says

      I would do full days. Having the nanny do two pickups would be terrible, especially when the baby gets on a nap schedule. With half days, nanny and baby would be in the car noon to 1:00 p.m., then nanny, baby, and 4yo would have to get back in the car again somewhere between 2:00 and 3:00 depending on when first grade lets out. Gas and wear and tear on the car, or mileage if your nanny drives her own car, would eat into the $350 per month savings.

      • Boston Legal Eagle says

        Yes, agree the double pick-ups will be rough when the baby is on a set nap schedule.

        Is there any way to have your K skip the nap for him? I hear you on the terrible sleep with nap. Around here, they transition the kids away from naps in Pre-K and do no naps (or very limited ones maybe?) by K.

    • OP says

      Thanks ladies.

      I didn’t even think of factoring in the wear and tear on our van or gas in the equation, but I totally should have. Or the fact that my 7mo will be moving to more scheduled naps which will make afternoons a nightmare if he’s in the car that much. I think those both tip the scales in favor of full days.

  9. So Anon says

    I need a perspective check: My mom travels pretty frequently, and when she travels, she leaves her dog with me. In the past, it has been ok (not great but ok) but things have changed. In the past several months, the dog has developed serious medical needs. The dog requires medication three times per day (morning, evening and before bed). Before she can have her meds, she has to eat a meal. About half the time, the dog takes her meds (about 6 pills) with peanut butter but the other half, the dog refuses. When the dog refuses, I have to force the medication down her throat, which results in me nearly crying with peanut butter everywhere. The dog refuses because her stomach is upset, which sometimes results in the dog throwing up her food, and then she needs a pill to settle her stomach before she can have her other meds. The dog also requires twice daily ointment to treat a skin condition. In general, the dog is tense and not used to being left alone. She whines from downstairs when I put the kids to bed. I can handle the dog on the weekends, but not during the week when I barely keep it all together as it is. I need to tell my mom that this is more than I can handle, but saying that I can’t handle something is very much viewed as unacceptable in my family.

    The other thing is that my mom watches my kids every Friday afternoon and will help out if a kid is sick if she has nothing else going on. I have reason to believe that my mom thinks this is a fair trade of acts of service. She helps with my kids, and I watch her dog when she travels. I deeply depend on her to help with my kids. I need perspective here and any advice you may have. My mom avoids conflict and cannot handle confrontation. Help!

    • Anonymous says

      One small thing that may help while you are figuring out how to deal with the big picture: instead of hiding the pills in peanut butter, wrap each pill in American cheese and smoosh the cheese around it. Even a dog who feels poorly will swallow the cheese and have no idea there is a pill inside.

      But big-picture, the dog needs to be boarded. Possibly at the vet’s.

    • Anonymous says

      Frame it as “Trixie is really not happy here” instead of “I cannot handle Trixie.”

    • Anonymous says

      Is there another option you could suggest that would make this manageable, e.g., a pet sitter to do the 2nd pill of the day while you are at work on weekdays, or you covering or splitting the cost of boarding the pet at least part of the time (or doggy daycare)?

    • ElisaR says

      this is why i don’t depend on my parents for childcare. the guilt factor is too much. it sounds like this dog is too much to handle…. maybe your mom can’t travel as much if she has a sick pet.

      i realize my comment is easily said as an outsider and not necessarily helpful. sorry.

    • Anonymous says

      Yeah, I have to think that you could frame this around the dog requiring more care than you can reliably give on weekdays. Tell your mom that you’re happy to take the dog on the weekends (because it sounds like that is true) and pick dog up on Friday/take her Monday morning (if true) if your mom is gone for a long period of time. Sadly, this situation might resolve itself relatively quickly…if dog is in that poor of health, will it be around much longer?

    • Jessamyn says

      Not to be totally mean, but in the instances where the dog refuses to take the medicine, can you just be like oh well, I’ll try again for the next dose? Can you ask the vet how serious it is? If the dog is getting 50% of its doses for a week, that may not cause any serious problems and could relieve a lot of stress on you.

      If not, can you pay to board the dog at the vet? Look at it as your “payment” for the childcare your mom provides.

    • Emily S. says

      This is tough, and there are a few things going on here. First is the dog’s medical condition and the vet should be able to weigh in on how to get the medicine down. (And I’m sorry if that falls on you to figure out, since it is your mom’s dog, but if it would solve the problem, would it be worth taking on the responsibility of calling the vet?) Second is the dog’s behavior or unhappiness at your house. Is telling your mom that the dog is anxious and whining at your house enough to have her make the decision to keep her at home with a pet sitter or board her? (This sounds callous, and is not meant to be as I am a dog owner, too, but how much does she love the dog/prioritize dog’s happiness?) Third is your relationship with your mom. My in-laws watch one of my kids two times a week and occasionally on the evenings or weekends, so I absolutely understand the idea of an exchange of services and wanting to minimize conflict or make the exchange of services smoother. With that in mind, can you throw money at the problem and have a dog sitter come over to your house, or pay for a dog sitter at Mom’s house, or pay for dog to board at the vet? Proposing that as an issue of the dog’s well-being and happiness is not a cop out, as it seems like dog is not enjoying the status quo. What I’m trying to get at is: I understand the parent-as-caregiver conundrum and I, too, have stretched my comfort zone to accommodate my parent-caregiver. So, solidarity if that’s the tack you end up taking.

  10. Anon says

    My husband is a professor and the university he works at grounded all faculty yesterday – no more non-essential domestic or international travel. (I think they should have done this weeks ago, but that’s a different topic). Anyway, DH told me last night that three separate male faculty members “joked” to him that now that they couldn’t travel all the time, they’d actually have to spend time with their wives and kids. We’ve long suspected that a lot of these guys travel way more than they need to, and live life on the road to shirk home responsibilities and now I guess we know that’s actually true. I know there are women who are (understandably) disappointed in losing out on business travel opportunities, but I just can’t imagine any woman framing it as “this s*cks because now I have to see my family.”

    • Anonymous says

      Many road warriors I know, male and female, would make similar jokes. It’s macho road warrior posturing that may or may not reflect their actual feelings.

      • NYCer says

        +1. I would assume that many (not all) were actually joking. One of my best girlfriends travels M-Th most weeks, and whenever she is on a local project, she always jokes that she is “stuck” with her husband for the entire week.

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