4 ms·

If anything remote workers should be paid more for being environmentally friendly

by buboard 7y ago

reportgunner 7y ago
Where will the extra money come from ?
- bomdo 7y ago
  Saved real estate cost for one less desk at the office, productivity gains [1]. That said, companies that are fully remote (e.g. Gitlab [2]) tend to actually adjust your wage for having similar purchasing power wherever you choose to live. This then encourages the company to hire from inexpensive countries, which has it's own pros and cons. [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/abdullahimuhammed/2019/05/21/heres-why-remote-workers-are-more-productive-than-in-house-teams/#5f64a93f6f9f https://www.forbes.com/sites/abdullahimuhammed/2019/05/21/he... [2] https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/people-operations/global-compensation/calculator/ https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/people-operations/global-c...
- goatinaboat 7y ago
  There are costs associated with working in an office - consider rent, cleaning, furniture, power, a receptionist, maybe an entire facilities management department, security and so on. These costs are split amongst the revenue earned per worker in that office. But homeworkers provide all those things for the company “for free”. And even more the homeworker might even provide the PC, the phone line, any tech support they need, all “for free” from the perspective of the company beancounters. In a fair world homeworkers would be paid this differential.
  - tom_mellior 7y ago
    Both remote employers I've had so far have paid me a monthly lump sum for my internet connection (covering more than the actual costs). And I've always had a company PC. You're right about rent etc. though.
  - reportgunner 7y ago
    Yes that is true. Except for the cases when workers already _start_ the job as remote. In such cases these costs are never created and therefore never avoided. You should also consider that the costs you've outlined are not paid "per headcount" but rather collectively for the company / per company site. This means that often the company would need to completely disimss the office location or move to a smaller location. I do not disagree with you, I'm just showing that money are not some magical points that you allocate with everything else falling into place.
- buboard 7y ago
  they save the company a ton
mjlee 7y ago
They are, in a way, given that they'll spend less on tax than their commuting colleagues - assuming that taxes are used as a method for government to incentivise behaviour.
- blaser-waffle 7y ago
  Mr Money Mustache (MMM) estimated that you saved something like $700 bucks per mile per year you don't drive. I've been remote for ~5 years, haven't owned a car for ~3, and I've saved a bunch of money. Uber and public transit handle most of my needs, and even after monthly passes and uber surge rates I estimate I save close to $500-600 USD a month in car payment/insurance/maintenance. The main downside is that I'm in Canada, and being carless in the winter can get ugly.
  - hajimemash 7y ago
    How does that add up? So if I don't drive 1000 miles in a year, I have an extra $700K?

If anything remote workers should be paid more for being environmentally friendly

reportgunner 7y ago

Where will the extra money come from ?

bomdo 7y ago
Saved real estate cost for one less desk at the office, productivity gains [1]. That said, companies that are fully remote (e.g. Gitlab [2]) tend to actually adjust your wage for having similar purchasing power wherever you choose to live. This then encourages the company to hire from inexpensive countries, which has it's own pros and cons. [1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/abdullahimuhammed/2019/05/21/heres-why-remote-workers-are-more-productive-than-in-house-teams/#5f64a93f6f9f https://www.forbes.com/sites/abdullahimuhammed/2019/05/21/he... [2] https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/people-operations/global-compensation/calculator/ https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/people-operations/global-c...
goatinaboat 7y ago
There are costs associated with working in an office - consider rent, cleaning, furniture, power, a receptionist, maybe an entire facilities management department, security and so on. These costs are split amongst the revenue earned per worker in that office. But homeworkers provide all those things for the company “for free”. And even more the homeworker might even provide the PC, the phone line, any tech support they need, all “for free” from the perspective of the company beancounters. In a fair world homeworkers would be paid this differential.
- tom_mellior 7y ago
  Both remote employers I've had so far have paid me a monthly lump sum for my internet connection (covering more than the actual costs). And I've always had a company PC. You're right about rent etc. though.
- reportgunner 7y ago
  Yes that is true. Except for the cases when workers already _start_ the job as remote. In such cases these costs are never created and therefore never avoided. You should also consider that the costs you've outlined are not paid "per headcount" but rather collectively for the company / per company site. This means that often the company would need to completely disimss the office location or move to a smaller location. I do not disagree with you, I'm just showing that money are not some magical points that you allocate with everything else falling into place.
buboard 7y ago
they save the company a ton

mjlee 7y ago

They are, in a way, given that they'll spend less on tax than their commuting colleagues - assuming that taxes are used as a method for government to incentivise behaviour.

blaser-waffle 7y ago
Mr Money Mustache (MMM) estimated that you saved something like $700 bucks per mile per year you don't drive. I've been remote for ~5 years, haven't owned a car for ~3, and I've saved a bunch of money. Uber and public transit handle most of my needs, and even after monthly passes and uber surge rates I estimate I save close to $500-600 USD a month in car payment/insurance/maintenance. The main downside is that I'm in Canada, and being carless in the winter can get ugly.
- hajimemash 7y ago
  How does that add up? So if I don't drive 1000 miles in a year, I have an extra $700K?