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Outside of the pandemic, I think a company doing remote/WFH carries with it some implications people don’t seem to talk about - namely that your physical worksp

Outside of the pandemic, I think a company doing remote/WFH carries with it some implications people don’t seem to talk about - namely that your physical workspace and equipment used is capital, and the company is not compensating employees for the use of that capital. If a company does not need to maintain office space, that is a huge expense they don’t have to pay for - but an employee is paying for it. Right now you can see this in the real estate markets - people are moving out of their smaller city apartments into bigger places, partially I’m sure, because maintaining an office at home requires extra space. But that cost is on the employee not the employer.

ergocoder 6y ago
IMO, this is one of the least concerning things with WFH. It's just another trade off. That isn't hard for many people who prefer working from home.
- danielrhodes 6y ago
  I certainly agree with you when it comes to individuals who have chosen to be remote either temporarily or permanently. It goes under the radar. But if a significant portion of your workforce is working remotely, it looks different.
tima11234 6y ago
Remote work at tech companies isn't something completely new, it just wasn't the norm. The good companies compensate employees for internet and hardware.
- dvtrn 6y ago
  I wonder if anyone has done a survey about the specifics of company support during WFH. “Does your company allow you to expense a portion or all of your internet?” Type inquiries. I’m often uploading and downloading large assets to our and our client systems, would be happy to fill out an allowable expense report if the company would pick up even a third of my Internet bill (course I have a feeling such a thing will never happen) Anyone know? Curious to read the results if such a thing exists.
- zrail 6y ago
  My company pays a good chunk for startup expenses for remotes but so far we haven’t convinced them to pick up the tab for internet.
  - danielrhodes 6y ago
    What would the company say if you asked them to compensate you for the square footage of your apartment that you exclusively dedicate to work activities. ;-) In the same vein, the IRS lets independent contractors write off the square footage of their home that is dedicated to work.
  - tima11234 6y ago
    My company is discussing some internet stipend. I'm all for it, it would be silly to say no to more money. However, I would have internet whether I worked from home or not. I realize some people may need to upgrade their internet plans, but this probably doesn't apply to most. Also, if you go outside the company bus shuttle bubble, companies never paid people all the commuting expenses that people incurred. Some _might_ give you a few bucks, but that rarely covers parking, gas, full public transport passes, wear and tear on your car, etc.
sjy 6y ago
Companies don’t compensate employees for the cost of their commute either. I don’t see the big deal here; the marginal cost of working from home is often pretty close to zero.
- mmcnl 6y ago
  They do actually. Maybe not where you live, but where I live it's normal (and expected) that employers compensate for commute.
  - sjy 6y ago
    Interesting, I haven’t heard of this. Is it like a fixed allowance or based on the employee’s actual costs? How does it work for cyclists and others with cheap commutes? Here in Australia we have various special allowances for some jobs, and it is normal for the employer to fund work-related travel during the day, but it’s not normal for employers to pay for the cost of commuting to a regular office job.
  - jlokier 6y ago
    Where I live, companies often provide a loan for a train season ticket (about £6k/year), but you're still expected to pay for it yourself in the end. Separately, the tax office does not allow employees or contractors to treat commutes as a tax-deductible expense. The cost of going to a non-habitual workplace is expensable, but not a regular commute.
- ck425 6y ago
  It's really not. The costs of commuting and wfh vary dramatically between individuals. In my case I have no commuting costs, I run or walk to work. Hell it's actually slightly cheaper as I showered at work 5 days a week. The costs of wfh during winter however are massive as I live in an old northerly city where well insulated flats simply don't exist. Plus my flat is mostly one room, with massive windows and has electric heating. There's no affordable way to insulate it and heating it an extra 8 hours a day will cost £80-100 a month.
  - 6y ago

ergocoder 6y ago

IMO, this is one of the least concerning things with WFH. It's just another trade off. That isn't hard for many people who prefer working from home.

danielrhodes 6y ago
I certainly agree with you when it comes to individuals who have chosen to be remote either temporarily or permanently. It goes under the radar. But if a significant portion of your workforce is working remotely, it looks different.

tima11234 6y ago

Remote work at tech companies isn't something completely new, it just wasn't the norm. The good companies compensate employees for internet and hardware.

dvtrn 6y ago
I wonder if anyone has done a survey about the specifics of company support during WFH. “Does your company allow you to expense a portion or all of your internet?” Type inquiries. I’m often uploading and downloading large assets to our and our client systems, would be happy to fill out an allowable expense report if the company would pick up even a third of my Internet bill (course I have a feeling such a thing will never happen) Anyone know? Curious to read the results if such a thing exists.
zrail 6y ago
My company pays a good chunk for startup expenses for remotes but so far we haven’t convinced them to pick up the tab for internet.
- danielrhodes 6y ago
  What would the company say if you asked them to compensate you for the square footage of your apartment that you exclusively dedicate to work activities. ;-) In the same vein, the IRS lets independent contractors write off the square footage of their home that is dedicated to work.
- tima11234 6y ago
  My company is discussing some internet stipend. I'm all for it, it would be silly to say no to more money. However, I would have internet whether I worked from home or not. I realize some people may need to upgrade their internet plans, but this probably doesn't apply to most. Also, if you go outside the company bus shuttle bubble, companies never paid people all the commuting expenses that people incurred. Some _might_ give you a few bucks, but that rarely covers parking, gas, full public transport passes, wear and tear on your car, etc.

sjy 6y ago

Companies don’t compensate employees for the cost of their commute either. I don’t see the big deal here; the marginal cost of working from home is often pretty close to zero.

mmcnl 6y ago
They do actually. Maybe not where you live, but where I live it's normal (and expected) that employers compensate for commute.
- sjy 6y ago
  Interesting, I haven’t heard of this. Is it like a fixed allowance or based on the employee’s actual costs? How does it work for cyclists and others with cheap commutes? Here in Australia we have various special allowances for some jobs, and it is normal for the employer to fund work-related travel during the day, but it’s not normal for employers to pay for the cost of commuting to a regular office job.
- jlokier 6y ago
  Where I live, companies often provide a loan for a train season ticket (about £6k/year), but you're still expected to pay for it yourself in the end. Separately, the tax office does not allow employees or contractors to treat commutes as a tax-deductible expense. The cost of going to a non-habitual workplace is expensable, but not a regular commute.
ck425 6y ago
It's really not. The costs of commuting and wfh vary dramatically between individuals. In my case I have no commuting costs, I run or walk to work. Hell it's actually slightly cheaper as I showered at work 5 days a week. The costs of wfh during winter however are massive as I live in an old northerly city where well insulated flats simply don't exist. Plus my flat is mostly one room, with massive windows and has electric heating. There's no affordable way to insulate it and heating it an extra 8 hours a day will cost £80-100 a month.
- 6y ago