Why have your expenses gone up? That's unusual.
Then there are things like (increased) electricity costs, having to upgrade your home internet to sufficiently satisfy your work requirements (eg if you need to be downloading or uploading large files, or your company had stringent remote call quality requirements), etc.
If you're someone whose commute was little or no expense, then these can be a notable new expenditures to budget around. They won't break the bank but they're worth thinking about.
"Snacks" can include whole meals and quality food which is both a monetary and time benefit. It won't move the needle, but it's another thing on the list.
I suspect companies will shake this out and factor it into compensation and reimbursement plans where relevant over the next few months, but it's fair to see it as a notable new set of expenses for some people.
In addition, our utility bills have risen about 50% as now we're at home for 8 hours more per day. Extra heat (and soon A/C), water, electricity, etc.
Also, my "play" room is now my work room. How much extra should I be paid for my work environment to be permanently visible at all times? It's starting to affect my psyche. Luckily I had a play room to begin with, so my bedroom didn't have to become my work room too. I would have even more trouble sleeping in that case.
I put an old IKEA table (nearly two decades old) on top of a regular table and that's pretty much the ideal height for me.
I use a MacBook Pro for work, and an Asus Predator laptop for personal stuff. They sit on the IKEA coffee table, which sits on a regular kitchen-style table. The height is perfect for my hands; the forearms are nearly horizontal when typing. The laptop screen is a bit low; if I had an extra screen, I would put that on top of a box on the IKEA table, but it's okay as it is.
Everything I need for work stays on the IKEA table all the time. I just swap laptops once a day.
There's a wall right behind me, which I can use as a back rest. Sometimes I put a knee and lower leg on the lower table, to give that leg some rest - it just happened to be the perfect height for that.
I can walk back and forth through the room when I'm in deep thought.
I have to say - I was surprised how comfortable the setup is. I am not tired at all from a physical standpoint at the end of the day. I actually prefer it now to the regular sitting posture.
When I'm done, I just move the IKEA table to its regular place. From a psychological standpoint, this is a nice benefit - it marks in an obvious way the moment when the work day is over.
As someone who has worked from home for years, more people and companies need to pay attention to this. It's very, very easy to stay glued to the computer all day, not get any movement, and get cabin fever, especially if you don't live with family.
It took me years of discipline before I could build the habits to make long-term work from home feasible. So many others I know - including in my family - struggle to separate work and personal lives when working from home.
I predict all these companies are going to find that their workers productivity and morale are crashing in six months.
Fixing remote worker loneliness and cabin fever is going to be one of the biggest - and most important - problems in the next few years.
2. Get some sunlight everyday. Even if its for 5 minutes.
3. Physically separate the work area from everything else. This might not be possible for everyone, but I have my office at the far end of the house. I use it only for work, nothing else. I even have a separate room with another computer for all personal work/games. Walking from the living area to the office creates a sort of "commute" which mentally switches you on/off for work.
As someone who lives within walking distance of my office and rarely buys new clothing, I'm in the negative just without free coffee alone, let alone other amenities and increased costs at home.
Lots of people in sfbay and nyc structure their living situations around not spending lots of time at home. That has been upended.
My company is allowing people to become permanently remote, if they want. However, after covid, if you go full or mostly remote, it will be a hard requirement to have a dedicated room for an office. That is probably incompatible with living in most of the bay area.
Is this something they can actually verify?
But, if I wasn’t using my personal laptop as a Plex Server, I probably wouldn’t have a personal computer set up at home. My wife and I use our iPads for all of our limited personal computing needs. If I break down and get an a NVidia Sheild, I might completely shut down my personal computer.
Thus, I have an ancient laptop and the couch or the kitchen table to use in a pinch, but that's gonna cause injuries if used long-term. I've been adapting, as we all have, since going WFH, but I've had to buy things in order to make it comparable to my office, where I have dual 24" screens, and a setup that's comfortable to be at for extended periods.