Why you should be paid more working from home

5 min readMay 14, 2020

The new area of working

With COVID-19, a large number of employees have started to work from home. It is especially true for services industries such as Banking, Insurance, and other professional services, but it does not stop there. Thanks to the technological advancement of the workplace, pretty much overnight, companies have re-invented the way they operate on a day to day basis.

We can appreciate how flexible and rapid these changes have been implemented. Especially given the fact that they are not exclusive to jobs that typically utilise a computer, but also of other industries, which have seen a rise in remote work through the use of technology. The learning industry is a clear example of this, with a wide variety of classes, from Maths to English and Yoga suddenly delivered remotely with the use of technology.

It is said that repeating something for 30 days will form a habit and become the new norm. And arguably we can say that working from home in the first week or two came with noticeable challenges, but now everything is running smoothly. People have embraced this new way of living, where they don’t need to commute to work anymore, spending numerous hours in overcrowded carriages in the morning and at night. Saving commuting time gives people the opportunity of spending more time with their families, allowing them to play a more active role in their partner’s and kid’s life, reducing stress and contributing to an overall more balanced lifestyle.

Tomorrow, will everyone work from home?

So now a question emerged, are we all going to work from home in the future? Most likely we will have an answer to this question in a few months, I believe. But we can already see a trend with Google, Facebook or Twitter offering their employees to work remotely, permanentely. It is unlikely that everyone is going to work from home. There are a plethora of reasons why someone would want to have the opportunity to work in an office. For some, it’s a lifestyle like younger professionals who love the vibrant city life with fancy bars, night clubs, and chic restaurants, for others physical attendance is simply required, such as workers in the heavy industry or on construction sites. However, for those who can work remotely, have kids, a house and 2 hours of commute every day, it is likely that they will want to continue working from home.

Why companies will encourage working from home

Companies are renting fancy office spaces in Australian CBDs at crazy prices. As an example, the annual cost of workspace per employee in Sydney CBD ranges between $12,000 and $16,000 (see section desk cost). Enabling remote work for workers will save a substantial amount of money for employers. We can assume that some companies will have considered a remote work strategy for cost-saving reasons, especially with the economic downturn due to COVID-19.

The reasons why you should get a pay raise

And here is the reason why you should get paid more for working from home. Not only is the company going to save a load of money, but most of these costs will be your responsibility. For example, heating or cooling your house will increase your energy bill, and especially here in Australia where houses and apartments are not really designed for cold weather (very poor insulation, heater, and AC absent in most apartments).

You may think about getting a bigger space because having an extra room to set up your new office is gonna be required, so you will be paying more rent and will have to furnish this new workspace with ergonomic office furniture.

Finally, your hardware requirements, since most companies will only provide you with a laptop. Working on a laptop all day is not very comfortable, and that’s why your workspace in the office has additional monitors, a keyboard, a mouse, and headphones. These will be your expense and your responsibility when setting up your home office.

But I can claim tax

It is possible to claim some part of the home office expenses during your annual tax return claim, however, the rules are quite limited and will often result in a lower amount (disappointing) compared to the cost involved.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it is likely that we won’t go back to the days where we were commuting to work, stuck on a train or a bus, spending the entire day away from home. The work-life will change and remote work will probably be encouraged by the companies themselves.

But when this time comes, make sure you take everything into consideration when it comes to costs. Please avoid accepting a reduction in pay for working from home. At the end of the day, working from home does not mean that you are doing less work. The amount of work will remain the same, you are likely to work even more and be more productive and the cost of setting up your space will be yours. Try to negotiate a higher salary using the arguments listed above. The employers will need to offer increased salaries for employees working remotely.

This article is a work collaboration of Cedric F. and Adnan K.

Desk cost is calculated with the following

Rent: Rent for desk space + rent for common area per employee (kitchen, meeting rooms)
Strata
Energy: electricity, air conditioning, lights…
Maintenance: cleaning, repairs
Furniture: Chair, Desk, Drawers, Lockers…
IT Material: Monitor, keyboard, mouse
Security
Others: Breakfast, Drinks… provided