The ability to work remotely is so important to some workers that they will accept a pay cut to make it possible, new research has revealed.
As companies like Amazon and Dell push strict return-to-office (RTO) mandates – and federal workers are told to get back to their desk or leave – the value of hybrid wok remains largely ignored by the business world.
However, a survey has revealed that employees will sacrifice up to a surprisingly large percent of their salary to be able to work remotely, despite C-Suites pushing to get everyone back in the office.
Lifestyle Decision
The research was carried out by the non-profit, non-partisan organization, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) working with researchers at Harvard, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of Illinois main campus.
They surveyed 1,396 US tech works, as well as employer ratings from Glassdoor and “cost-of-living and quality-of-life measures based on job location.”
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What the researchers found was that, on average, employees are willing to accept up to a 25% pay cut for partly or fully remote roles. The team adds that this estimate is “three to five times that of previous studies.” They add that the difference could be down to how previous studies have carried out their research, including “understating preferences for remote work.”
It is a stark finding. As much as 40% of workers said that they would take a 5% pay cut in order to work from home. However, nearly 10% would take a cut of up to 20% if this meant that they didn’t have to work from the office.
Pay Sacrifice
While the research reveals a willingness among employees to take a financial hit to get hybrid working in place, the team actually found that the wage difference between remote and in-office jobs isn’t what they expected. Their research into tech jobs proved that, actually, the remote jobs were better paid. The researchers report:
“Our data indicate that the average compensation for in-person roles is, on the contrary, slightly lower than that for otherwise identical remote positions.”
This doesn’t take into account the savings that remote workers make by not having a daily commute and, for parents, the potential for extra hours of childcare as they travel.
Indeed, despite the statements by the likes of Dell about “innovation and value differentiation” as benefits of the RTO, morale has tanked. Amazon has faced repeated protests and has pushed on regardless. In contrast, the stats on remote working paint a rosy picture of not only increased productivity but also improved work-life balance and worker wellbeing.
Changing Expectations
The value that employees are placing on their right to work from home reflects how it has now become a lifestyle choice and an expectation for many employees.
The Pew Research Center released an analysis of interviews with 2,315 US adults conducted in October. It found that 46% of those interviewed who have a job that can be done from home said that if their employer no longer allowed them to work from home, they would be unlikely to stay at their current job.
Kim Parker, director of social trends research at the Pew Research Center, told CNBC that this stat shows just how important hybrid working has become.
“Our data underscores how comfortable people have become with this arrangement, and how it really fits in with their lifestyle.” – Kim Parker, director of social trends research at the Pew Research Center
It’s about so much more than money, the research suggests, and the rising disgruntlement among staff working for employers who refuse to recognize this is a growing concern for recruiters in 2025.
