Your use case is totally acceptable and the only case I would recommend to "tunnel" in employer networks. This is the only viable option for a VPN, other than use in a restricted region where actual information is difficult to find, but even that can be problematic.
Unfortunately, what we see most often here are users who think they are getting Security/Privacy by using the VPN and that could not be farther from the truth. I post links just to show it is not only my opinion and there have been many cases of users who have had their information compromised because of the VPN. This has included names, emails, addresses, Bitcoin payment info, and cleartext password.
For those that are using a VPN because they feel it is for their security and privacy, you just need to see these reports from reputable companies that have reported on these breeches and the million of people affected by it.
https://www.pcmag.com/news/7-vpn-services-found-recording-user-logs-despite-no-log-pledge
https://www.foxnews.com/tech/massive-free-vpn-data-breach-exposes-360-million-records
https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2021/03/21-million-free-vpn-users-data-exposed
https://cybernews.com/security/25-million-free-vpn-user-records-exposed/
For those people, they need to get rid of the VPN on their Mac and the issue with Apple News will be resolved. For your case using it for a legitimate purpose, I truly hope there is a solution provided for you.
