I'm kind of in the same situation you're in. My hubby lets Lily out on his lunch break and I get home at about 4 or 4:30 and let her out again (I'm a teacher). On the weekends, we've been letting her stay out all day. I'm thinking though, that we're going to start putting her crate in the living room on the weekends so that when she gets tired during the day she'll get in to take a nap but still be around us. Maybe that'll start to help her see her crate as a place of comfort and rest--and gives her the opportunity to "choose" to go in it.
Good luck!
