Crate vs pen training

Hi everyone , 3 months ago we adopted the cutest little bichon poodle mix! She’ll be 1 next week! We were told she was crate trained (begrudgingly) . My husband and I both work out of the home for 8-9 hours a day. My son comes home from school after 7 hours and lets her out. Anyhow , we’ve always put her in her crate and for the first few weeks I came home for lunch.We have a camera at the crate to make sure she’s doing ok. However it pulls at my heart strings because she looks so sad and bored in there. She’s used to it now and doesn’t cry but I have the ability to section off a portion of the house for her. However every time I try and put her in the room and put the gates up she whines and cry’s and doesn’t stop. I want to do what’s best for her and I want her to be happy but it seems she’s only happy when we’re home. She definitely loves seeing me and following me around Everywhere once I get home so I don’t know if she has separation anxiety? Anyhow I just want to know should I keep her crated if she tolerates it or how do I go about training her to stay in the contained room?
sorry so long