Feds rush to find child care, dog-sitters amid return-to-work
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D.C.'s caretakers are in hot demand as federal employees scramble to rework their lives under President Trump's in-office mandate. Nail salons? Not so much.
The big picture: The local economy shakeup comes as other DMV employers like the Washington Post and Amazon have also pushed their employees to be on-site five days a week.
State of play: Area day care sites — child and canine — have seen a surge in interest since the federal return-to-work order.
- Children's day care group Bright Horizons, which operates several locations across Washington, has seen increased enrollment interest due to returning feds, a spokesperson tells Axios.
Meanwhile, the Falls Church, Fairfax City and Springfield locations of the doggie day care Dogtopia have also seen increased interest, as has Atlas Doghouse on H Street, owners tell Axios.
- Springfield Dogtopia owner Amber Sutton Donohoo also owns a nail salon in Arlington and tells Axios that she's seeing far fewer WFH clients come in during the lunch period.
What they're saying: Friendship Heights doggie day care The Dog Coop has increased its business by 17% since the end of January due to the order, owner Judi Clayton tells Axios.
- Usually, Mondays are slow for Clayton as folks work from home, but last Monday she did twice her normal business. "We were packed."
- Many of these dogs aren't used to being separated from their owners so much, says Clayton, and she's given her personal number to worried paw-rents so they can FaceTime and check in during the day.
- And her clients' stress is also impacting their pet's stress levels, says Clayton. "They have to go back to work, [they're wondering] are they going to still have a job? What are they going to do?"
What we're watching: Whether any of this back-to-the-office bump is impacted by Trump's simultaneous moves to reduce the size of the government workforce.