As American business leaders scramble to lure employees into their offices this fall, they’ve hit an unexpected hurdle: inflation.
Transportation, food and childcare costs have risen faster than wages, and some employees say it’s not only more convenient but also cheaper to continue working from home.
When the Covid-19 crisis triggered a widespread shift to remote working in early 2020, many companies paid stipends to employees who complained about the cost of setting up home offices and electricity bills more important.
But now some workers say distancing is the most economical option as consumer prices in the United States continue to rise. “I lose money every time I leave my house,” said Lina Tumanyan, a Manhattan-based realtor.
Even with a job that requires time to show properties outside of the office, Tumanyan said she has to travel a few times a week for things like sending emails and posting. advertisement. “It’s really frustrating that many places now require people to be in the office because we’ve all seen that everyone can pretty much function at home and be fine,” she said.
US consumer prices rose 8.3% in the 12 months to August, with the out-of-home food index gaining 8%. The price of gasoline used by commuters who drive remains 17% higher than a year ago at around $3.70 a gallon, even after a recent drop, according to AAA.
Major employers, from Apple to NBCUniversal to Goldman Sachs, have pushed staff back to the office, with mixed success. Last week, office occupancy rates in 10 major U.S. cities hit their highest level since the start of the pandemic, according to data from security firm Kastle Systems. Daily subway ridership reached 3.9 million passengers in New York City last week, also the highest since March 2020.
Yet data from Kastle released on Monday showed the average office occupancy rate was still just 47.3%, down slightly from last week. The New York City subway is operating at less than two-thirds of traffic on a typical day before the pandemic, with particularly low trips on Mondays. Around 60% of employees surveyed by job site ZipRecruiter say they prefer working remotely.
“Employees still express a pretty serious reluctance to return to the office and a strong preference for remote work,” said Julia Pollak, ZipRecruiter’s chief economist. “The motivations for wanting to work remotely have changed over time. So while health issues were the main concern initially, transportation costs are now the main concern. »
Full-time American workers say they spend twice as much money on average in a month when working in an office, around $863, compared to $432 when working from home, an Owl Labs survey found. a video conferencing company. equipment manufacturer that benefits from hybrid operation.
Office workers said their top daily expenses averaged $15.11 for commuting, $14.25 for lunch, and $8.46 for breakfast and coffee. Those with pets also reported spending an additional $16.39 on services such as dog walkers.
That’s why Megan Zuckerman limits her trips to the office to once a quarter. Zuckerman, a 28-year-old public relations executive, moved from Manhattan to New Jersey with her parents in June 2020. At the time, her employer still planned to operate remotely “indefinitely.”
His bosses then announced a two-day-a-week office schedule. Meanwhile, New York apartment rental prices had risen so much that Zuckerman couldn’t afford to go back. The median monthly rent for new leases in Manhattan hit record highs for six straight months before dropping to $4,100 in August, according to appraiser Miller Samuel and broker Douglas Elliman.
Zuckerman estimated his trip from New Jersey — which involves both a ferry and a bus and takes nearly two hours — to cost $45 round trip. Eventually, she found a new job that allowed her to work mostly from home.
“I’m really glad I was able to get some flexibility because two days a week in the office would have been very expensive,” Zuckerman said.
Some employers have expanded benefits to try to offset rising costs. Healthy snack maker That’s It, which forced a return to the office last year, gave each employee three separate $100 gas gift cards when prices rose above $5 a gallon.
California-based biopharmaceutical company Urovant has expanded the approved uses of a $500 health and wellness allowance given to employees, from fitness expenses to transportation, lunch and childcare costs.
“We offer this to our employees to recognize them, but also to help provide additional incentives and compensation, as we understand that the cost of living continues to rise,” said Betzy Estrada, chief human resources officer at Urovant.
Managers aren’t the only ones who desperately want white-collar workers back in the office. City leaders such as New York City Mayor Eric Adams have urged businesses to bring them back to support local economies. According to a ZipRecruiter analysis, industries that depend on regular visits from office workers, such as coffee shops, dry cleaners, nail salons and parking lots, still employ 347,000 fewer people nationwide than before the pandemic.
It’s the kind of expense that discourages workers like Tumanyan, the real estate broker. Between her subway ticket, her coffee, a salad for lunch, and the things she’s tempted to buy in Manhattan, she said she can spend $75 on days she goes to the office.
“Unless you want to pay for our lunches and transportation, no, I won’t come into the office every day,” she said.