As organizations worldwide pivot from the remote work model adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic back to traditional office settings, both employers and employees are facing critical challenges and considerations. A recent survey by leadership coaching firm BetterUp highlights the financial tolls on workers mandated to return to the office, revealing an average monthly expenditure of $561.06 on work-related expenses. The study also found that workers are willing to accept an average 13.2 percent pay cut for the flexibility to work remotely, underscoring the significant value employees place on the option to work from home and have more flexibility in their lives, in general.
The reluctance to return to office settings isn’t merely a matter of preference; it’s a complex issue intertwining financial, environmental, and work-life balance considerations. For instance, a number of state workers in California, as reported by The Sacramento Bee, expressed concerns over the additional financial burdens posed by mandated in-office days.
“We don’t see any benefits from coming into the office,” said one California Air Resources Board worker interviewed in the report. “All we see are costs.” A colleague confirmed the sentiment, “There are no positives.”
Another state agency, California’s Employment Development Department (EDD), issued a directive earlier this year calling its civil servants back to the office, with EDD Director Nancy Farias announcing that staff will be required to work in-office at least two days a week starting early spring.
The announcement comes as Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget proposes cuts to telework stipends for state employees, signaling a significant change in the state’s approach to remote work. These stipends, ranging from $25 to $50, have been a small but important component of the compensation package for eligible teleworkers.
Employers face a conundrum: how to balance operational needs with the well-being and preferences of their workforce. The BetterUp study suggests that employees forced to return to the office are significantly more likely to experience stress, decreased productivity, and a loss of trust in their organization. These findings are echoed in the sentiments of state workers in California, who question the benefits of in-person work given the lack of evidence linking telework to diminished job performance.
The Bee report states that the push for state employees to return to the office has sparked concerns unrelated to work performance, as departments have yet to show that teleworking has led to a decline in job efficiency. The mandatory return to office is poised to significantly impact workers financially, with expenses ranging from a few hundred dollars monthly for parking and fuel to over a thousand dollars for those requiring additional transportation or child care. Employees are expressing deep concerns about managing these increased costs. The return to the office not only disrupts the financial stability of families by introducing new expenses for child care and transportation but also diminishes the quality of life benefits enjoyed during telework, such as spending more time with family and saving on commuting costs. The financial strain is so severe that some fear it will push their families to their financial limits, casting doubt on their ability to cope with the transition.
The financial implications of the return-to-office mandates could spill into tense negotiations with unions. Some union leaders are starting to challenge the rationale behind the mandates, emphasizing that modern collaboration and productivity can thrive in remote settings through digital platforms.
“Outdated thinking dies hard — this notion that collaboration and team-building are done in offices filled with cubicle farms is just not how PECG members think about it anymore,” said Ted Toppin, executive director of the Professional Engineers in California Government, in the report. “They’ve seen the future, and it’s on Zoom. It’s on Slack. It’s on virtual platforms where they can be in constant communication with their teams across the state.”
