Digiday Media’s Worklife reported on a study showing RTO costs employees $61 per day on average—that’s $10 more than last year. The breakdown equates to commuting and parking at $27, breakfast and coffee at $13, and lunch at $21 per day.
Applied to Adland, an industry that charges by the hour, it would also be right to add costs for time spent commuting to and from the office, as well as for dinner if employers don’t allow expensing after-hours meals.
Do the simple math: employees must cough up $305 per week for the privilege of sitting in a cubicle.
Forget cost-of-living salary increases. It’s time to request a cost-of-RTO raise.
Workers spending more than $60 daily to work from the office
By Hailey Mensik
Going back to the office is costing staff more than just their time. They’re spending $61 on average every day when they come in, paying for parking and gas or transit, coffee and lunch, and even breakfast or dinner on some days, a new survey found.
That’s up from $51 last year, according to the survey from Owl Labs, which includes responses from over 2,000 U.S. workers. This financial burden is one factor driving ongoing resistance to returning to offices, and comes as some major employers like Amazon and Dell have announced plans for employees to return for the five-day week.
“If you’re being asked to go into the office five days a week, an additional $300 a week in expenses is really, really high,” said Owl Labs CEO Frank Weishaupt. “I think that the long-term concern is employees are going to look for more hybrid opportunities and more remote opportunities,” he said.
“You really need to understand the culture and the employee base within your company, to understand how you might be able to incentivize return to the office by potentially subsidizing some of those key things,” he said.
On average workers are spending $27 a day on commuting costs and parking, $13 on breakfast and coffee, and $21 at lunch, the report found.
“What’s fascinating about this transition back to work is that I believe employers have forgotten how very expensive it is to go to work,” said Joy Taylor, managing director at Alliant Consulting. “It involves parking for many organizations, which is very costly. It’s childcare, food, gas,” she said.
“Those are dollars that matter to every single employee, regardless of the level, but of course hits harder for those that are at the beginning stages of their careers. And organizations need to be very aware of the impacts that those costs are undertaking to their employees,” Taylor said.
Workers in the survey said higher compensation would ease the financial burden of returning to the office, with many experiencing years of inflation as the cost of living has risen with no accompanying raises. But wage growth continues slowing, with raises and bonuses this year unlikely to be that generous.
Workers also cited having shorter commutes, free or subsidized food and beverages, and having their parking and commuting costs covered by their employer, as ways to ease the return.
According to Taylor, parking should be paid for by an employer. Providing staff with more free food, and a wider variety of healthier and nutritious food (not pizza parties) is another way to help make the return to in-person work easier and cheaper, she said.
Steve Sacona, founder of Top 10 Lawyers, an Australia-based lawyer comparison site, said he spends around $80 these days when he heads into the office. “Even a simple coffee run can hit $10 and lunches can easily reach $20 or more,” he said.
At the same time, “costs meant for transportation can really add up, especially with fluctuating gas prices and the occasional need for rideshares,” he said.
“What stands out to me is how these expenses have changed over time. With inflation squeezing budgets tighter each trip to the office feels more expensive. It’s essential we keep a close eye on these costs as we balance the benefits of remote work with the need for in-person collaboration.”
No comments:
Post a Comment