Over the past year, many companies have explored working virtually and have experienced first hand the many benefits that remote work has for both companies and employees. We have even written about these benefits in our previous blog posts. However, there are also many costs that remote work has on companies and employees that weren’t so evident a year ago.
Companies that transitioned their employees to remote work likely saved hundreds of thousands of dollars on overhead costs (snacks, coffee, office supplies, utilities, etc.). While saving this much money sounds like all rainbows and butterflies (we love a good “company saves money” story, in fact, we save clients hundreds of thousands of dollars for a living), there are certainly other costs that companies are paying to have their employees remote. Some of these costs are:
The Cost of Culture/Communication: How do you create a sticky remote work culture? This is what many of our clients have been trying to figure out this past year. In 2020, Google saw a 9% increase in searches related to “team-building”. It’s no surprise that many companies have struggled with creative team-building activities when workers can’t gather in a central office.
In addition to company culture, communication within companies that have moved remote has also been an issue. 20% of remote workers have identified communication as an issue within their company. Yes, there have been numerous technologies emerging in the “office communication” space for this reason, but communication problems within companies still persist.
The Cost of Women Leaving the Workforce: Working, parenting, domestic duties, and staying healthy has taken a toll on many professional women. In September, 617,00 women left the workforce (mostly between the ages of 35 to 44) compared to 78,000 men. Even before the pandemic, women were at an increased risk of mental health problems due to challenges in keeping all areas of their lives in balance. And companies that choose to go fully remote permanently do run a risk of losing women in their workforce.
Security Cost: Remote workers need to access company systems, and data from their homes using a wireless connection. It’s no surprise that 54% of IT professionals say that remote workers are a greater security risk. 62% of security incidents related to WiFi connection happen while employees are not working in the office. Remote workers have a higher threat of using unsecured wifi networks, using personal devices and networks, and being targeted by work-from-home scams.
For many employees, the saying “the grass is always greener on the other side” couldn’t be more true as many employees who have dreamed of working remotely found themselves doing just that over the past year. The cost of commuting to and from work is nearly zero and more time can be spent with family and loved ones on workdays lowering child care costs for remote employees. While the commuting and child care costs have shrunk, other costs have expanded enormously for remote workers. Some of these costs are:
Household costs: Living and working at home is not just keeping your bathroom well stocked with toilet paper. A survey by creditcard.com found that remote employees are spending about $108 more per month while working from home. Groceries are perhaps the most noticeably increased expense at an average of $182 more per month.
Functional home office costs: A survey of 950 remote employees found that 12.6% of workers don’t have a dedicated workspace. Working from home likely required many of these employees to bulk up on their internet and phone data plans, purchase office chairs (how long can an employee actually last working on the living room couch?), desks, printers, ink cartridges, pens, paper, and sticky notes.
Beyond the cost of technology and supplies is something a remote worker can’t buy. That is what we are calling the cost of tranquility. In a perfect world, an employee’s home office is a dedicated space that is soundproofed, equipped with state-of-the-art internet speed and connectivity, and safely tucked away from household chaos and clutter. This is not the case for most employees, and many have found themselves constantly distracted with kids, pets, bad internet connection, and all the other things tied to household chaos. In fact, the survey of 950 remote employees found that 96% of workers find themselves participating in non-work related activities during the workday. The most common activities were cooking (59%), watching tv (55%), and doing laundry (52%).
Health Cost: As we have previously covered in “What’s Your Health Culture”, the mental health for many employees over the past year has taken a downward spiral (20% of remote workers are struggling with loneliness). In addition to mental health, physical health, and overall hygiene are also a concern of a largely remote workforce. In the survey of 950 remote employees, 58% of employees reported getting too much screen time, 24% said they are overeating, 52% said they are undereating, and 22% admitted to declining personal hygiene.
The bottom line is that when it comes to having a remote workforce there are hidden costs that many companies and employees are just now starting to see the effects of. While remote work is still very attractive for many companies and employees, offices still serve a purpose.
