Paying less for 100% Remote?

33 Comments

1. Betty WarrickFebruary 17,2025 at 5:42PM UTC

   Remote work is looked upon as a benefit to employees more than the employer. Despite the fact that companies are surveilling their remote employees far more than their in office ones.

   Also, do you have more costs working from home? Yes, the power to run your computer and heat or cool your home when you would normally not be there are costs, but they are often offset by lower costs of commuting and wardrobe and the ease of making a lunch from your fridge vs eating out.

2. AnonymousFebruary 17,2025 at 6:54PM UTC

   I benefitted my company because they couldn't find the talent they needed in their area.

   Well, yeah, you can use Teams to monitor what people are doing. All their work is visible to admins regardless of where the employee is.

   Yes, working from home I use my internet, my phone, my cell, my power... so yes it absolutely does.

   I can see you feel some way about the topic, which is unfortunate. But I won't allow you to cut the legs out from under my concern.

3. AnonymousFebruary 17,2025 at 7:33PM UTC

   I'm curious - how does it cost you more for internet? Isn't your internet connection already always "on"? Pretty much everyone has an unlimited cell phone plan these days - how does that cost more? Is your computer not always on?

   And why are you just discounting the cost savings the other commenter mentioned - gas, wear and tear on your vehicle or public transportation costs, clothing, dry cleaning, etc.

4. AnonymousFebruary 17,2025 at 9:39PM UTC

   I agree with you and I replied above about from bed to home office versus bed to out of the house office. It doesn't cost anyone more money. You're right, your internet doesn't shut down to conserve energy, lol! The sewer bill may go up more (as I notice but I'm only remote 2x a week). I eat in, I don't have to have 2 days of extra work clothes which are far different than my loungey at home clothes. Honestly those who think it costs more to work from home made me laugh. The remote option far outweighs any additional costs IMHO. You have to weigh the benefits. I remoted well before many people and wayyyy before COVID when I could write off my internet, power, extermination bill on my taxes. Gone are those days.

5. AnonymousFebruary 17,2025 at 10:05PM UTC

   So you're jealous or feeling insecure about those of us who are qualified to work from home?

   I mean, aren't you going to eat anyway? Do you see how what you are saying doesn't quantify?

6. AnonymousFebruary 17,2025 at 10:02PM UTC

   So, nobody who works from home should be using their personal laptop. In addition the organization is riding my networking, so I have to keep that data safe. So I must have FO and their laptop is kept safe by my hardware firewall. Collectively this runs me 5K a year. Another 200 is spent on VPN services. My unlimited with the backup hotspot is 300 a month.

   I can see now that you may not understand the full spectrum of WFH.

7. AnonymousFebruary 17,2025 at 7:05PM UTC

   Not everyone has the same expenses but through many pov's it's should be less expensive, taking into consideration, car, gas, work clothing, food, just to name a few. When you take those expenses you would have with an in office then you will see the true picture for yourself. There's even some car insurance savings out there too.

8. AnonymousFebruary 17,2025 at 10:08PM UTC

   Seriously? Do you think I run around Naked?

9. AnonymousFebruary 18,2025 at 1:16PM UTC

   Ridiculous response. Why post if this is your mindset.

10. AnonymousFebruary 18,2025 at 6:07PM UTC

    I agree with you. Why did the person make that comment. It was irrelevant. It cost less to work from home. To the person who replied about being naked... you don't have to wear your best clothes that may cost a bit to get dry cleaned. And saves on keeping them longer as threads and material wears out after multiple wears. When you're home unless you are June Cleaver, you are not wearing your pearls and vacuuming.

11. AnonymousFebruary 17,2025 at 9:12PM UTC

    I've only experienced the opposite. When I moved to a new place within walking distance from work, not only did my commuting costs disappear, but the insurance cost on my car went down because I was driving less than a certain amount each month/year. Since work was casual attire, my wardrobe costs weren't what some others are experiencing with a return-to-onsite order. I understand you may have some incremental increases in utilities, but would these cost more than a commute if you were to find work within a commutable distance? I would fill my gas tank once or twice a week when commuting. Now, I can go a month or more between fill-ups.

    The choice is yours. If you feel slighted because you work from home, decline the offer and continue looking. You are in control, and if they want you bad enough, they will either pay you what you ask for or find someone else. You have the same option. I would ask them if they were to convert the job to in-person only, would you be given an automatic raise to cover the "benefit" of WFH that you would be losing.

12. AnonymousFebruary 17,2025 at 9:35PM UTC

    Remote work saves employers money and overhead. To add to their savings, some jobs may pay less. However, those I've seen in my industry are not paying less. I bypassed a remote only job recently as the pay wasn't much more than I was making and my leave is immeasurable. But it was a very good opportunity I think. If you can get your needs met, consider remote for a little less than what you expect. Really it's not costing you more money, your output from your bed to your office, versus your bed to your office outside of your house costs more. More laundry (including dry cleaning), more food, more gas, and not to mention putting more miles on your car. I think in the long run you have a good deal working from home.

13. Danielle Peterson, MBAFebruary 17,2025 at 10:24PM UTC

    Most remote positions do pay less. As others have mentioned, remote work is seen as a benefit - and remote workers are able to save time and money since they don't have to commute to the office. And remote jobs are becoming more rare as an increasing number of companies issue RTO mandates. So, it's up to you to decide what your priorities are as you seek your next role: The freedom of remote work? A high paycheck? Ideally you'll find both, but you may have to choose.

14. AnonymousFebruary 18,2025 at 11:26AM UTC

    Remote work is perceived as a perk and these days not treated as valued v. In person work. Sad but true.

15. AnonymousFebruary 19,2025 at 1:24PM UTC

    If it legitimately costs you more to wfh, then maybe don't apply for those jobs?

    They are harder to come by these days and so it would seem u are actively seeking that out - WHY???

16. Rebecca A BrittFebruary 19,2025 at 5:08PM UTC

    Because maybe their work/life balance means they need to WFH and you should be paid according to your value rather than your address. Paying people less because of where they log into a computer is why 2nd and 3rd world countries are taking our jobs.

17. Coach Nancie Kay ShumanFebruary 19,2025 at 8:02PM UTC

    One of the issues is that not every State requires companies to post wage ranges and not every employer chooses to post them. So it can be impossible to know what the compensation is when you are applying.

18. AnonymousFebruary 19,2025 at 1:39PM UTC

    is it that the remote part that's driving the lower salaries or is it based on the area you live? Some companies are reevaluating salary levels for remote employees based on where They live rather than where the company is based. Ex: you live in Billings, Montana but the company is based in NYC, they are going to pay you based on the salary levels for Billings, Montana. I am curious, as several others have asked here as well, how working remote costs you more? Are you being required to provide all of your own equipment? If so, you should be able to deduct that off your taxes (check with a tax person for your area). Same thing if you are providing your own phone/internet services or utilizing supplies like printing/mailing.

19. AnonymousFebruary 19,2025 at 3:10PM UTC

    My employer added separate job classifications for fully remote positions for new hires. Compensation ranges are about 10% less than hybrid (50/50) and fully in office positions They are however providing remote employees with full computer set up, cell phone and internet allowance.

20. AnonymousFebruary 19,2025 at 3:14PM UTC

    It’s hard to say in today’s hostile remote work / RTO climate.

    10 years ago I could recieve a $20/month subsidy for my home internet and personal cell phone which were sporadically used for business purposes, a few times per month.

    But I saved $20/day on days when I did not commute and/or eat lunch out.

    I know they’ve also been cracking down on paying us adjusted for the COL of residence, not the COL where the office is.

21. AnonymousFebruary 20,2025 at 1:33PM UTC

    I agree with the OP because my energy bill almost doubled when I worked from home during covid. When in the office I adjust my thermostat so that the heat or air-conditioning isn't running as much while not home. Working from home, it is running much more and is costly.

22. maria roseFebruary 20,2025 at 4:48PM UTC

    Won’t that be a given cost ( your electric consumption) that you would already know.? In order to be compensated for home electric costs, you would need to have a meter reading proof that your electric use is affected and if I am correct , it is an expense that falls under deductibles for tax purposes when filing taxes especially if not using the standard deduction. —-under the home office deduction line—which people have been doing for years when filing taxes.

    I get that the OP in this discussion wants a fair salary compensation but they also have to realize that companies today are realizing that they don’t have to compensate paying employees for the perk of working at home especially if those employees are earning a salary for their work at the rate for that position. And by following the labor laws, and tax laws they are paying the correct compensation.

23. Marquisha ThomasFebruary 20,2025 at 3:47PM UTC

    I would definitely think the commute, unless you lived close to the office enough to not have to worry about gas, car maintenance, etc., that working remotely would be less expensive. Apart from using resources at home, so I'm with another poster, can you explain this?

24. Donna LaPointeFebruary 21,2025 at 3:34PM UTC

    If you are a parent WFH, you might not need afterschool care. Sometimes, it's the commute that necessitates the need for that care. That's a big monthly savings right there.

25. RhondaFebruary 21,2025 at 11:34PM UTC

    Hmm, and they are saving facility infrastructure $$$ by not having to provide a physical space for you to work in, and the utilities that are incurred.

26. AnonymousFebruary 24,2025 at 2:02PM UTC

    You can claim the costs of working from home office on your taxes.

27. AnonymousFebruary 26,2025 at 3:41PM UTC

    Is this true? I thought it was only if you ran your own business?

28. AnonymousFebruary 24,2025 at 5:48PM UTC

    remind international employers need to meet the same standard as locals if they want to operate in US: Payroll theft hurt you and government. Make sure documented on your paystub, time, payscale, deduction, to prevent money laundering, debt graft, tax evasion, bank robbery, human trafficking.

29. AnonymousFebruary 24,2025 at 8:56PM UTC

    It costs me less to work from home. I don't have to pay for transportation to & from work, wear & tear on my car, food, clothing, etc. I already have the internet at home, so that's not a consideration. How would it cost you more?

30. AnonymousFebruary 25,2025 at 3:05AM UTC

    So, you WFH and don't use a firewall or VPN or ride on FO?

31. AnonymousMarch 3,2025 at 5:51PM UTC

    My husband works in network administration so has our home network locked down. I use the company provided VPN to access secure data. So still no additional cost to me.

32. AnonymousMarch 15,2025 at 11:45PM UTC

    That's not true. Your husband has invested in security, which has locked down the network, so it's an additional cost for your family.

33. AnonymousMarch 15,2025 at 11:50PM UTC

    Everything is negotiable if the organization offers less for WFH. Counter or find a higher-quality organization to work for.

    Allow me to add NO WOMAN SHOULD EVER BE PAID LESS! I see some folks were never taught that.