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There's been some recent speculation about the effects working from home will have on various parts of the economy, particularly the commercial real estate market. If companies can figure out how to keep employees productive, coupled with the desire for some to relocate to more rural areas (and consequently, farther away from the office), it's possible some companies may reconsider continuing to carry all the overhead associated with having an office.
Which leads to the question: should remote workers accept a pay cut for working remotely?
A recent survey of 600 U.S. adults found 66 percent willing to take a pay cut for the flexibility of working remotely.
To what degree varied, however.
- Fourteen percent would take a one to four percent cut;
- Twenty-nine percent would take a five-to-14 percent cut;
- Seventeen percent would take a 15-to-24 percent cut;
- Seven percent would take a 25 percent or more cut;
- Thirty-four percent would not take a lower salary for flexible remote work.
The survey, taken from July 5 through 7 from Fast, a start-up specializing in online checkout, found COVID-19 safety concerns part of the current appeal of remote working. Thirty-nine percent were less comfortable returning to their physical office compared to 30 days before. However, 65 percent preferred a workplace that gives employees the flexibility to choose where and when they work remotely.
[...] The concept of "localized compensation" or paying someone less for the same work because of where they live is being hotly debated in human resources circles. In May, Facebook drew some backlash after announcing that employees choosing to permanently work remotely will receive salary cuts if they move to less expensive areas.
Originally spotted on The Eponymous Pickle.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 27 2020, @06:11AM (3 children)
You're going a bit overboard with the glue huffing.
The fact is, people who have never actually "worked" from home, don't understand the costs involved. Anyone going into a new business situation/environment needs to do some research, to figure out what the costs really are.
For me, making a home office would be pretty cheap and easy. Some lumber, a bit of concrete, run a little wiring, and I'm pretty well done. People living in cities with strict zoning control might have six months of headaches before they can actually sign a contract for someone else to start construction. Other people will fit somewhere inside that spectrum.
No matter how you look at it, unless you physically separate your home office from the rest of the domicile, then work will invade into your home life. That is a cost that almost no one figures in.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 27 2020, @09:04PM (1 child)
Forget the concrete etc. Just buy a shipping container and wire up a 50Amp subpanel
DONE ...
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday July 27 2020, @10:30PM
Yeah, that will work. A refrigerated container. Damn if I want to sit inside a metal box with the sun beating down. Start with a refrigerated container, and then build a bit of a roof over it, to keep it in the shade all day. But, I can build something a lot better looking than a shipping container, without even trying.
Ever been inside a refrigerated rail car? Those things are very well insulated. I knew a preacher man who put two of those together, side by side, separated by about 8 or 10 feet, and made a home inside. Best of all, it actually looked pretty nice - quaint is probably the proper word to use.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 28 2020, @03:22AM
One factor here is that many people are already effectively on-call 24/7. If work is already interrupting your home life, being set up to do the work efficiently lets you get back to whatever you would rather be doing more quickly, or at least with less frustration. Sure, working from home with a laptop shoehorned onto the kitchen counter while your toddler pulls your hair isn't a great working environment, but anybody who's actually planning on doing remote work rather than getting suddenly forced into it by a plague is just naturally going to make some kind of accomodation for it. I think most people probably don't need to actually build a separate structure. Convert an extra bedroom, attic or basement space, or temperature-controlled garage into a home office and tell the kids that if they open the door, someone better be dead because if not they're going to be. If you don't have kids, just set aside a corner of the living room and turn off the TV. Of course, once the pandemic is over, they can just go to school or day care while you work, and the living room corner is good enough for anybody.