Parents want to work from home for good. But for moms, the effects could be dire.

The hour between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. used to be Chan Téi DuRant’s least favorite hour of the day.

Within minutes of leaving her D.C. office, she would be in bumper-to-bumper traffic, inching along the interstate as she stared at the clock, picturing her 9-year-old daughter alone on the playground with the only teacher who hadn’t gone home for the day. By the time she arrived at her daughter’s school, 25 miles away, DuRant, a single mom, was frustrated and exhausted. She would already be dreading the frenzied sequence of tasks that awaited them: homework, dinner, shower, lay out tomorrow’s clothes, brush teeth, bed.

Then, wake up and repeat.

When her office started working remotely last March, DuRant said, she immediately noticed changes in her body: Her shoulders softened and she started sleeping more deeply. She had time to dance around the living room with her daughter on a Tuesday and work out six days a week.

DuRant, who works in government communications, has been eagerly awaiting an announcement from her employer: Once everyone in her office has been vaccinated, she wants to know if she will be expected to return.