Catherine Rampell on the new orders to return to the office:
Declines in remote work — and the recent proliferation of high-profile firms ordering workers back to the office — are a sign that the labor market is weaker than it might appear. That’s because return-to-office mandates are, effectively, an invisible pay cut. Let me explain.
Like other employment benefits (e.g., health insurance, paid leave), telework is not available to everyone. Only about 38 percent of full-time workers report being hybrid or fully remote, according to the Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes. Those jobs are disproportionately in higher-paid, white-collar occupations.
This amenity has real value to these workers. It saves them commuting time and transit costs, lets them live farther away (where housing might be cheaper), and offers other conveniences (quiet working spaces, less surveillance from bosses). Some economists have even quantified the value of all these benefits: On average, Americans value the option to work from home two or three days a week at an estimated 8 percent of pay (the equivalent of about $5,000 for the typical worker).
Some workers, such as those in their 30s, with kids or with a university degree, value it even more — at the equivalent of 10 to 15 percent of their pay, says Nick Bloom, a Stanford economics professor and longtime researcher on remote work.
In other words, many workers effectively banked a sizable raise around the start of the pandemic. And it didn’t even cost employers anything! At least, it didn’t show up on pay stubs, per se.
There are many ancillary expenses you don’t have when you can work from home. All those lunches out, dry cleaning, work clothes, wear and tear on your car etc. It costs money to go to the office.
I’m not sure why the companies are requiring their people to come back to the office. I suppose some of them believe they aren’t getting the productivity they should when they aren’t there to crack the whip? Probably not true. My experience of years in the corporate workplace was that massive amounts of time was wasted in useless mettings, shooting the shit, paper shuffling and many other activities that didn’t translate into anything one would call productivity. I think that many people are much more efficient at home.
I also recall that for many years the idea of remote work was one hope for the future of the planet since the elimination of the commute would have a positive effect on pollution and ultimately climate change. I guess we’ve all decided that doesn’t matter anymore.
It’s about control, nothing more. Bosses like to be able to intimidate their workers and direct their working habits regardless of whether it works best for the worker or positively affects the outcome. Working from home changes the relationship of boss and worker and the bosses don’t like it.