Remote work vs office: do we really save money by working from home - ForumDaily
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Remote work vs office: do we really save money by working from home

Recent reports have shown that professionals who work from home find that telecommuting has helped them save money. But is working from home really a game-changer for most workers? Yahoo.

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Dinner. Rise in gasoline prices. Work wardrobe update. Not surprisingly, many US workers are resisting employers' demands to return to the office full-time.

Despite many companies setting April return-to-office deadlines, U.S. office occupancy has held steady at about 43% over the past month, according to the Kastle Back to Work Barometer, which takes into account numbers in 10 major cities. A recent Deloitte report found that almost 40% of millennials and a third of Gen Zers report that working remotely has helped them save money. Many employees are objecting to going to the office not because of COVID-19, but because their commute is too expensive.

On the subject: The cost of gasoline in Northern California has reached nearly $10

While working from home means forgoing commuting, it's not free, especially when you factor in rising energy costs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI, electricity costs rose 11% year-on-year in April alone.

This increase may not matter much if you spend eight or more hours a day in the office using a corporate air conditioner. But when professionals are at home, the costs fall on them, and these costs can be significant depending on factors such as the size of the home, the type of air conditioning system, and various home maintenance variables such as window efficiency. Not to mention the extra expense of powering your computer, charging your work phone, and maybe even running your printer once a day or so.

In the first four months of 2022, Americans spent an average of $23 more on their monthly electricity and gas bills than in the same period in 2019, according to data provided by Fortune by bill payment service Doxo. On average, Americans spend about $156 a month on electricity and $150 a month on natural gas this year. Those using heating oil and propane had an average heating bill of $302 per month in 2022.

These higher costs have not been raised even during the hottest months of the year for much of the country. The US Energy Information Administration reported that in the summer of 2020, when many Americans were on lockdown and working remotely, residential electricity consumption was 7,9% higher than in the summer months of 2019. This was the fastest year-on-year increase in summer energy consumption since 2010.

This summer, the administration projects that residents will consume an average of about 1050 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity per month between June and August 2022. That's about 2,9% less than the summer of 2021, partly due to milder temperature forecasts and also because fewer Americans are working from home.

Internet expenses can also be included in WFH (working from home) expenses. On average, Americans spent about $120 a month on internet and cable TV in 2022, according to Doxo, which is roughly the same as what U.S. households spent before the pandemic. This may vary as some workers have chosen to upgrade their internet connection during the pandemic, which also continually increases the monthly cost.

Fares are on the rise too.

While Americans are spending more on electricity, it's undeniable that rising gas station prices are further draining their budgets. Fortune calculated that the average cost of gas for a five-day commute in May was about $140, based on average gas prices from AAA, average miles travelled, and typical vehicle fuel efficiency. That's up from about $90 a month drivers spent on commuting gas in May 2019.

This, of course, does not take into account the associated costs of owning a car, including maintenance and insurance, which can increase if the car is driven more frequently. Based on AAA guidelines, UC Santa Barbara has calculated that these costs could be almost $500 per month. Road tolls and parking fees can also add to travel costs, but these costs vary considerably.

Public transport is a bit more economical. The average cost of a monthly pass is about $67, according to a ValuePenguin analysis of 70 transportation systems in the US. However, these prices vary greatly. In New York, a monthly unlimited Metrocard costs $127. Baltimore's Monthly Unlimited Public Transportation Pass will cost $26 starting June 2022, 77.

Nothing is cheap these days

WFH or RTO (return to office): Ultimately, when you compare the cost of commuting to work from home, Americans are paying more overall, and neither option is likely to save them much. .

This is especially true given that many companies are now taking away work-from-home perks that have helped cover some of those electricity, Wi-Fi and home office setup costs. Around 10% of employers surveyed by WTW in June and July 2020 have provided workers with some sort of subsidy to help them cope with the cost of telecommuting.

By February 2021, the Employers' Council found that only 3% of employers surveyed were offering their employees one-time assistance or reimbursement for home office equipment. The average assistance was about $66 per month.

Both travel and WFH costs vary widely and depend entirely on where Americans live and the strategies they use to save money at home or on their way to the office.

For example, Google Maps contract employees recently waived demands to return to full-time work. One employee told the New York Times that he would be forced to make the 160 km daily four-hour commute to work. As the average gas price in Washington DC hit $5,27 a gallon, travel fuel costs are likely to top $400 a month.

However, there are ways to cut back on the cost of returning to the office. A worker who uses a car with just one person for an average round trip of 65 miles can cut their current average monthly fuel cost from $150 to $75. Taking the bus, train or subway, bike or scooter to work can also provide some savings, as can finding the best gas prices with apps like GasBuddy.

On the other hand, the size and location of your home affects how much you can spend working from home. Before the pandemic, a 370-square-meter home cost 71% more to cool, or about $114 on average, than a 230-square-meter space, according to smart home energy monitoring company Sense.

In addition, Sense found that Americans living in states like Texas, Florida and Arizona pay twice as much to stay cool in the summer as those living in northern states like Maine and Montana. This is only getting worse as energy and electricity prices rise.

While many Americans can't just pick up and move to lower their energy costs, there are ways to cut costs, especially home cooling. Investing in a smart thermostat can help (and some utility providers even offer rebate programs).

Using a fan and pulling curtains on your windows can also help lower the temperature inside your home and allow you to use less energy to cool it. Moreover, these common sense rules about turning off unnecessary lights and devices really work.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New York.

After all, for those looking to save money, it's usually a tough choice between simply working from home or commuting to the office. But by making small tweaks to WFH settings and thinking critically about daily commute options, Americans can stay on top of rising costs, and in some cases even cut them.

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