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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 Thexalon on Monday July 27 2020, @09:59PM
The obvious reasons workers are considering pay cuts in exchange for not being an office:
1. Commuting to work isn't free. It can easily cost 1-2 hours per day, plus either gasoline and wear-and-tear on a vehicle, or fares on public transit. It's also not risk-free: Every day, commuters wind up injured for life or dead because somebody was being stupid on the road. Oh, and this is reflected in your car insurance rate.
2. You're far less monitored at home, so that gives you more options for what to do when you aren't being productive. In the office, people are still unproductive, but have to work harder at looking busy whenever a boss comes by.
3. You can easily step away to handle things that you previously had to take time off to handle, e.g. someone coming to your house to fix something.
4. If you have kids, you no longer have to pay for someone else to be home with them while you and any other parent they may have are at work. Ditto for any elderly parent you may be caring for at home.
5. If your office has a culture of going out to a restaurant for lunch, or employees paying for food to be delivered, eating food from your own kitchen is much cheaper.
Or, to summarize, the employees' expenses are going down, not just the employer's expenses.
And also relevant here is that you're being naive if you think that salaries have ever had much to do with rational evaluation of costs and productivity. There are lots of businesses where useless employees make a lot more money than useful ones.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.