After years of telecommuting, more and more American workers are returning to the office. But they complain the shift is affecting their wallets.
Many frustrated office workers have complained that the cost of work clothes, daily lunches, commuting and more is increasing as they start going to the office several times a week. Jessica Chou, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, said she was spending 20% to 30% of her salary when she was asked to return to the office.
Jessica wrote: “After all, after a few years of jogging shoes, re-working work clothes is not cheap. My cosmetics are expired and need to be re-purchased. Coffee and new colleagues cost $3-4 each time .”
In addition to upgrading the sweatshirts in their closets to loungewear, many American office workers are recording other expenses for their day at the office.
Users on TikTok who log their spending at work throughout the day say they spend $30 to $45 on transportation, coffee and lunch alone. For those who travel to the office more than three days a week, the weekly office bill can exceed $100.
On Tuesday, Tesla, Twitter CEO Elon Musk called telecommuting “morally wrong,” and other industry executives are pushing back on policies that allow employees to work from home.
According to Jessica, making your own lunch and bringing snacks is one of the solutions to the increased cost of in-person work. As for new clothes, she sometimes has to save enough money for seven days to buy them.
Jessica said: “To avoid buying lunches, I follow a friend’s advice and prepare lunches for the week in advance. Sometimes it’s just a pot of lentil soup, but it works.”
