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My biggest expense being remote is that I need an extra room for my office. Besides that, that would probably be heating in winter and electricity, but these ar
by troebr 3y ago
My biggest expense being remote is that I need an extra room for my office. Besides that, that would probably be heating in winter and electricity, but these are small compared to the cost of an extra room.
- ghaff 3y agoUnless you're going to pay for an extra room--which seems very unlikely (or should be) to be reimbursable as opposed to working on the kitchen table--the actual incremental costs seem pretty trivial. Even if you reimburse some pro-rated amount of internet and/or mobile, that's maybe $100/month in the US. ADDED: If you don't have an option to go into an office, a stipend for a co-working space may be reasonable.
- rubiquity 3y agoThere’s these things called home offices and many have converted a room to be one when working from home all the time.
- laweijfmvo 3y agoHow do you value the opportunity cost of an extra bedroom?
- kjkjadksj 3y agoIts not unheard of to carve out the home office already for tax purposes.
- ghaff 3y agoThat's long been a pretty questionable deduction unless it really is a dedicated space for work purposes. (Also, relatively few people in the US itemize today after the 2018 tax changes.)
- alistairSH 3y agoMaybe not unheard of, but currently not allowed for most employees. IIRC, the current test is: 1. Exclusive use 2. Primary place of business (NOT primary workplace - WFH employees usually don't qualify)
- dukeyukey 3y agoA home office costs you hundreds extra per month, at least in my market (London). I work in the corner of our bedroom right now. My girlfriend works in a corner of the living room.
- kortilla 3y agoWorking from the kitchen table doesn’t work if you have a family or really anyone else in the house.
- saagarjha 3y agoOr if you have like any ancillary hardware, or want a back that isn’t ruined
- lm28469 3y agoA desk in the bedroom works well enough. You don't "need" an extra room, I've never had an extra room and I've been working from home in all my jobs
- ModernMech 3y agoYou're missing the parent's point. Your setup works for you but what if you and your partner both need to work? Do you both work at your desks in your bedroom? How does that impact your partner's sleep? What if you need to work late but they need to get up early? What happens when they have a meeting when you have a meeting? What if their work involves being on the phone all day? I think you're looking at this from a solo dev's perspective, where all you do is get up, bang on some keys for 8 hours without anyone else bothering you, and then you're done. Of course that works in a corner of your bedroom where you live alone, but that's not everyone's job and living situation.
- ghaff 3y agoBut the context of this is whether you should be reimbursed for the cost associated with an extra room if you choose to work remotely for a company that has offices, even if those offices are in higher CoL areas. (There's certainly an argument for providing a stipend for a co-working space for a fully remote company.) No one is arguing that a dedicated office isn't desirable. It's a question if someone else should pay for it if you want one.
- ModernMech 3y ago
- _ea1k 3y agoI'm sure the WFH needs have factored into many home purchases in the past few years. It is a real expense.
- AlwaysRock 3y ago100% My wife and I both work from home. We are DINK but that still means we need to compete with families for homes with enough space for two offices. I'm not complaining, it's just absolutely a major expense.
- em-bee 3y agoi am paying for an extra room, because i have to live in a place that has that extra room, which costs more money. if i didn't need the room, i could save a lot of money by getting a smaller apartment.
- pfannkuchen 3y ago> working [full time] on the kitchen table Good luck with your debilitating back issues in 10 years.
- chasd00 3y ago> Good luck with your debilitating back issues in 10 years. i said this up thread, make sure you get a good, solid, office chair. Work at the kitchen table but sit in something that's specifically designed to have a human in it for 8 hrs a day without killing the human.
- johnnyanmac 3y agoIf you need to do this, especially if you are tall, invest in a good monitor/laptop stand. Does wonders and a good one is only 60-80. If you need to penny pinch you can get a foldable one for 20-30, but the stability is worth the extra cost for me.
- driverdan 3y agoUnless you have special equipment that requires the space you don't need an extra room, you want an extra room.
- sokoloff 3y agoYou mean like a desk, a chair, two monitors, a camera, microphone, and video light? That type of special equipment?
- dghughes 3y agoI've got two monitors and a laptop on 1/3 of my computer desk. I'm huddled on a corner literally the point is right where I work. My mouse is 10cm from the desk edge. It sure feels like I need extra room.
- eilefsen 3y agoMy partner who works from home has a NDA which means nobody is allowed to even be in the same room while she is working. That room is more than wanted...
- cryptonector 3y agoIf you have the extra room already then you're probably already using it as a den anyways. But if you don't then you're not likely to move and incur the extra expense of having an extra room -- work from office is definitely for you then.
- kag0 3y agoThis is exactly what I think of when considering actual remote work expenses for myself. I live in 600sqft which is not bad for a place to live. But not great for one, let alone two people to work. In terms of quality of life, I think having to work a) within 10 feet of my bed , b) on the kitchen table, having to clean the table of work before every meal, or c) on the couch which is not at all ergonomic; are all huge steps down from the office. If you already have an office/den to work from, I can see how it's not a big deal. But if you're looking at buying a first home and your requirements go from one or two bedrooms to three bedrooms/1 bedroom & two offices, that's brutal. From the link > Although the law regarding these expenses is not yet decided, remote California workers may also be entitled to reimbursement for: > * the cost of dedicated home office space (reimbursement is more likely if the employee was renting or had plans to rent the space to a third party prior to beginning remote work). (Cal. Lab. Code § 2802 (2022).) If that actually happens I would be very shocked/impressed. But I'm highly cynical of how wants vs needs are going to be interpreted there. To me the mental health benefit of being able to physically leave work is a need, but I know not everyone is likely to see it that way.