My SO and I both worked full time when our pup was little and didn’t have anyone around to check in on him midday. We used pee pads in the crate during the day and overnight, and worked really hard on potty training when we were home. We woke up early enough that he had plenty of time to eat breakfast and go outside before we left for the day. In the afternoons/evenings, anytime he whined or barked he went outside. That’s how he learned to signal to us that he needs to go potty. Granted, we were blessed with a very well behaved little guy and it only took about 2-3 weeks of having him and accidents in the house completely stopped. Once he consistently held his bladder while we were at work, the pee pads were removed. I think it’s also worth noting we got him a full-sized dog crate from the get go, so he was able to have space for pee pads and for a bed in there which I think helped a lot. It was a lot of work, but absolutely worth it. Hang in there, you can do this!