Salary Sacrifice: American employees would take a $316 pay cut each month to avoid going back to their place of work, reveals study.
- 57% of employees say they will request to continue working from home to avoid contracting coronavirus in the workplace.
- 2 in 3 say they have been more productive working from home than at their usual workplace.
- 1 in 10 are happy to see the back of office politics.
- Interactive map included.
Saving money on daily commute, no need to worry about what to wear and no office politics to deal with… are just a handful of benefits to working from home (WFH). Many Americans have been forced to adjust to WFH conditions, creating a major shift in their daily routines. However, a change in working environment is good for the soul, thus, may also increase productivity amongst employees and employers alike. Considering some of the cost-saving benefits of WFH, would employees actually forfeit a portion of their salary in order to continue working from home?
RealBusinessSavings.com, provider of business money-saving and making resources, conducted a survey of 3,500 American employees to evaluate attitudes toward altered working environments, given the current circumstances. Overall, it was found that the average American employee would take a $316 pay cut per month in order to continue working from home after lockdown.
Broken down across the country, it appears Californians are most keen on resuming their WFH routines after lockdown as the average employee here would forfeit $495 of their salary in order to continue to do so. Comparatively, Hawaii employees were most keen on returning to work after lockdown as the average respondent here would only forfeit $71 of their salary each month in order to continue working from home.
View interactive map showing results across the US
Additionally, it was found that of those employees who are able to work from home, 57% say they will be requesting to continue working from home when lockdown ends in order to reduce risks of catching coronavirus in the workplace. It could be likely that many employers will grant these requests given that 60% of employees also say they have actually been more productive working from home as compared to their usual place of work.
Due to social distancing practices, it seems the days of high-fives and handshakes with your co-workers are over. In fact, 75% of employees do not think handshakes will ever return to the work environment. However, surely the infamous handshake needs a replacement – 65% of respondents say the elbow tap should take over. This was followed by the simple nod greeting (28%), foot tap (5%) and bow (2%).
When it comes to reasons people prefer to continue working from home, 30% of employees say saving money on transport is the best thing about working from home, followed by no daily commute (28%). An additional 22% say the best part is saving money on lunch/afterwork drinks, 12% said avoiding office politics and 8% said their favorite part is not having to wear business attire.
Lastly, 1 in 3 workers say since WFH began, bosses have been more friendly and have had a more relaxed attitude towards employees.
