Most startups determine their workspace model by its running costs. An important part of the business feasibility is its cost. It is quite obvious that the remote working costs are only a fraction as compared to the conventional office working costs. In a way, these costs are the reason why many smaller businesses are opting for remote working or hybrid working.
Remote working costs affect both businesses and employees. A survey showed that 70% of millennials and Gen Z employees prefer remote and hybrid working to office working. You must be wondering the reasons why remote working is getting more popular day by day. The answer is pretty simple; workspace cost.
In another survey, 58% of employees said that remote working gives them a perfectly balanced work life. 49% said they could focus more while working from home, while 51% said they are more creative and meet deadlines better. This preference is because of various reasons; remote work costs are one of these reasons. Employees don’t have to commute, follow strict office dress codes, there is no stress about timing, etc.
Productivity increases because they get to pay more attention to their work, in a comfortable environment rather than in a stressful office environment. They don’t have to commute to and from the office premises daily. Some employees have to travel from far-off places making the journey long, tiring, and expensive. Working from home removes this burden of commute expense from them. It also removes lunch expenses, daycare expenses, pet care expenses, etc. These expenses vary from employee to employee, but in comparison to office work, it is considerably low.
Office work costs compared to remote work costs:
Location:
To run an office, you need to rent office premises in a commercial area. Many states don’t allow you to run a business from a non-commercial address. The rent of a large office building is a huge expense that the business pays. Prestigious business locations are expensive to rent and lease.
Remote working cuts this cost to a minimum. Even if you have to rent a head office, it can be a small space in a less expensive area as your employees are working remotely anyways.
Utility expense:
An office with employees working from 9 to 5 will use electricity, internet, and telephones. These add up to expensive monthly utility bills. With hybrid and remote working environments, these costs are cut down as well. Electricity and fuel consumption decreases and so do the utility bills. Even if your workspace is hybrid, the usage will still be less than in a full-time working office.
Management staff:
Another monthly expense is of the administration or management staff. You need staff to maintain and clean the premises every day. Their monthly salaries are part of the overhead expense that can be decreased with the help of remote working. You can cut down this cost completely with a complete remote system.
Many organizations downsized their cleaning staff and other managerial employees. Smaller companies are opting for virtual office services because it is pointless to keep a fully equipped and staffed building when most of the staff works from home.
Infrastructure cost:
For a fully functional office, you need all the required equipment and infrastructure. From office furniture to equipment to amenities; you need to provide everything to the employees. You might think of it as a one-time expense but the service of the equipment and electronics is a regular expense. Printers, computers, scanners, fax machines, photocopiers, etc. all need to be regularly maintained. You can add it to the monthly office working costs. But, this cost is removed or minimized in the case of hybrid and remote working.
Food and commute:
Commuting can be expensive and troublesome. Employees using their cars have to bear the fuel expense, while the ones traveling through public transportation have to pay daily fares. Remote working removes these expenses. Even in the hybrid work environment, this cost cuts down to half or less according to the number of days they have to go to the office.
Employees tend to eat out a lot as well. Office employees pay for lunch, coffee, snacks, beverages, etc. more when they are in the office. They also have to pay for pet care, child care, etc. These costs decrease in hybrid and work-from-home, but the difference is small and sometimes unnoted.
Increased workspace costs:
Not all costs are decreased because of remote working. There are some increases in expenses as well. Since the employees have to work from home, their electricity and internet usage increases. This will increase their monthly utility bill however it is not a huge increase. 62% of the employees said that they paid 50$ more each month for internet bills, while 49% said they paid 50$ more monthly for the electricity they used. 42% said they paid 100$ extra on groceries and 36%said they paid 50-100$ more on utility bills monthly.
Final verdict:
The ease of use, increased productivity, and balanced work life are some of the reasons businesses are giving their employees the choice of working from home. Many businesses are using hybrid workspace setups to save overhead costs. There is no doubt that businesses can save more and be more productive in a remote working setup. Certain remote work costs increase for the employees but when compared to the office work costs, it is just peanuts.
Whichever choice you make for your business workspace, the expense will be one of the decisive reasons. Many small businesses and employees prefer remote working because of this very reason.