I feel for you! I'm a teacher in another town (30 min away), so Dixie is by herself for almsot 9 hours a day (10 months old). At the beginning of the year my neighbor came over and let her out of her crate around noon to go outside, play, etc. But, due to illness she couldn't continue to help. So, I decided to put a baby gate in the door of my spare bedroom where Dixie's crate is. She has food, water, toys, treats, bed, crate...blah blah blah and seems to do fine. She does not go to the bathroom at all. I really think she just sleeps all day.
She seems to be on a good routine, I take her out twice before I leave in the morning, she pees and poops. And of course she goes out several times after I'm home.
My advice is just keep trying different things and see what works for you. Do your best
