Remote work could allow companies to shift RE expenses onto employees. [pdf] | Hacker News Reader

Remote work could allow companies to shift RE expenses onto employees. [pdf]

nber.org

13 pointshkmurakami12 comments

Not just that, but I think remote work will further disadvantage people in poor financial situation that can't afford nice separate place for work.

Could also be an advantage for such people as they wouldn't have to spend money on relocating to a different part of the country. Think house move, rental deposit, job insecurity while on probation and so on.

Also people underestimate how expensive in both time and money commuting is. Remote work may actually give people opportunities who cant afford to commute.

The savings i made in commute money have all been spent on a nice quadruple monitor setup, a gaming pc, a mac mini and a macbook pro. Not to mention cheaper accommodation and the new found time for reading and side projects.

I am curious, you bought 3 new computers. What was the use case for the mac mini and macbook pro?

The pc is for game dev side projects. The mac mini is my daily work horse as there’s less stuff to break (keyboard etc) while the laptop is for onsite interviews and rare meetings. Started remote work before the pandemic and expected a bit more mobility.

Remote work made the last year of my Masters degree so much less stressful. The time gained from not having to commute meant I had a little extra time to study or relax.

This is solved quite nicely where I live by allowing people to claim home-office expenses on their taxes. Everything from extra rooms to desks and chairs.

Claiming it off your taxes doesn't help much if you don't earn very much.

Then the cost is tax deductible for both the company and the employee.

If you own a business, be sure to formalize this with a rental agreement as part of their employment contract.

This is definitely true. For singles and DINKS it is still manageable, you can get by with a 1 or 2 bedroom place. However once you have a baby or a couple of kids, your space requirements balloon, and with that, the costs.

Say we have two parents who both need an office each, a room per kid, it all adds up very quickly. $$$ that would have been spent by the employer are now spent by the employee.

True, but it all depends on where you live.

One of the best things about remote work is that it allows you to live in places that are not super expensive. You could easily get double the space for less money in real dollars in many places around the US.

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