As an employer (given our revenue didn’t deflate), I’d be happy to do that, but the administrative hurdles is what annoys me.
Laws of France says I can offer an allowance, but only if I gather every single receipt and do a pro-rata of, for example, the additional electric consumption caused by WFH. The administrative overhead of admitting a dozen invoices per employee of $7 each is probably around $7 each (their time, my time, the accountant time, and the opportunity cost that we spend 10%, 15%, 25% time dealing administrative matters rather than interesting software work - making our work boring is a huge cost). If I give it as a bonus (and pay taxes like on a salary), god knows whether I’ll be required to keep paying the bonus when they come back to the office.
I’d rather the govt say “Allowance is $10 per day”, but it is considered unfair between those who have to purchase their own desk and chair, and those who had the Aeron chair provided by the employer. We’ve succeeded to negotiate our social framework so much that moving in any direction has an important cost.
Having lived in Australia, it’s incredible how administrative overhead impacts morale in a huge way. In France you are always late for some paperwork, never free of mind.
I was always a “pay for your own telework stuff if you want to telework” kind of person, but after teleworking for a year in a crappy chair, I really wish my org would buy me decent office equipment. I took a chair and a desk for granted. And it seems like a good deal for orgs if employees all start buying their chairs and desks and whatnot.
At least in France it’s an OHSA equipment. They did mandate stupid stuff (they required me to give wireless keyboards); but shoulder, back, elbow and wrist inflammation are serious in IT jobs, and if an employee is at risk, the employer must fund the risk mitigation, i.e. the chair. I’m happy to do that.
Fun stuff, I work more than my employees, so OSHA asked me to have an Aeron-type chair (500€, Enjoy model), while my employees will be fine with just a good work seat for 7hrs a day. I actually wish I could give more stuff to my employees but they are a bit afraid to ask - It’s important to have regular talks about comfort.
I’d like to think that most employers that have spent the time and effort to make this work would have policies that cater for the cost of working from home, rather than just saying “you’re saving money on your commute, deal with it”; but this may be naive!
I know that at Spotify this is the case. When choosing to work from home you receive Wi-Fi allowance, as well as being allowed to expense a standing desk, monitor, desk lamp etc. You are also allowed to claim for coworking space fees, but only if you are > 50 miles from the office. Since working from home has begun all employees have been given a prepaid food card for lunch expenses, and after the pandemic this will be available to both home and office workers. The other benefit for a multinational like Spotify is you can work from any country that they are legally registered. I don’t know how other companies will approach this.
In my case I'm happy enough to not be paying $150 gas a month and a 1800 min driving commute a month (30 hr x $50 per hr is $1500) and $100 parking that I dont mind to continue paying for the internet I already had and the little extra electricity I use by WFH.
There are tax exemptions but during corona Skatteverket has stated that most of those cases aren't eligible for 2020 [0] (answer to the question "Kan jag göra några avdrag med anledning av corona?"):
> Du som under 2020 har jobbat hemma med anledning av pandemin kan som regel inte få avdrag för exempelvis arbetsrum, bredband, möbler eller kaffe, även om du har haft de kostnaderna för att du har jobbat hemma.
Translating:
> Can I make deductions due to corona?
> If you have worked from home in 2020 due to the pandemic, you cannot normally receive a deduction for, for example, workplaces, broadband internet, furniture or coffee, even if you absorbed the costs by working from home.
