The hidden costs of working from home

Remote work is fast becoming the norm for many companies and across industries. This new trend seems to be favored by everyone across the board, but recent surveys have revealed the extra hidden costs of working from home that some people were not aware of or even ready for.

Nearly six out of ten employers say that one the major benefits of working from home are the cost savings, but the long-term telecommuting experiment could come out of the employee’s pocket.

Due to about 50% of the UK’s population working from home, come winter, energy costs per household are going to skyrocket. Radiators, heaters, boilers and air conditioners will be on throughout the day. The collective costs for working households is about £2 billion per year in the UK, or about £107 yearly per household.

Many companies have either turned the other cheek on such extra costs of working from home, or even imposed pay cuts for company facilities no longer in use. Facebook said that employees who choose to work from home and moved to cheaper living areas to work may face a pay cut.

As remote work continues, many people who used to depend on office equipment, now have to depend on their own personal tools. Some are simply not ready to bear the extra costs for supplies such as printers, ink, stationary or even office furniture.

“I think employers, they’re silent. The silence implies that the expectation is that we as employees will figure it out at home,” said Elizabeth Patton, Assistant Professor of Media and Communication Studies at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. “It’s interesting that we fell into this idea that this is normal, that we should take up this cost.”

Under present laws, costs of working from home are compensated, but only makes up about one-third of the power bill costs projected.