Costs will be appended to the workers. I hope we all realize someday how working from home applies further wear & tear to our amenities and homes compared to the office's. Think toilets, sinks, fridges, chairs, doors, floors, etc.
I fully advocate for WFH regardless and to even supplement with an option like DeskPass for those that want to take a break from home. But a portion of those former office costs should go to the workers.
Time and flexibility is worth much, much more to me.
I agree that employers should pay for adequate equipment (desk, chair, additional monitors, a great camera and headset, not just the laptop). A reasonable sum of money for mortage/rent and utilities should also be considered.
Though be careful what you wish for. One of the advantages of home office is that commuting time is not paid (with the somewhat reasonable justification that people can freely pick where they live and it’s not the employer’s job to subsidize those living far away). I think if those at home get something for the additional rent/mortage and utility use then those commuting should also get something for their commute time and lost flexibility. So in the end that comes to me out in a wash and I’m generally fine with no one getting anything.
Yes, but so do the costs of the commute. How much wear and tear is that 55min/41 mile commute on the worker's car - or more rarely how much does that train/bus ticket cost monthly?
Some of the cost is always borne by the workers. And most people don't realize just how expensive wear and tear on a car is (or just owning one to get to work independent of wear and tear).
Personally, I'd take the wear and tear on the house over time lost commuting.
I work from home and haven't noticed significant additional wear and tear on my toilet. The same with my sink, fridge, doors and floors. I did buy a chair. It was about 300 bucks and it's a better one than I've ever had in an office.
Id say that it’s insignificant. Moreover one can write off office equipment. The stress and wear on daily transportation to and from offices is far more significant at that: wasted time, energy, pollution.
You should examine how you are using your toilets, sinks, fridges, doors, and floors if you are causing measurable wear and tear by staying home an additional 9 to 10 hours.
IDK about how much wear and tear I inflict on my doors and floors by programming from home.
You would have a better point by arguing about energy consumption, there the difference might actually be significant. If you, e.g., need to run your air conditioning in hot summer.
I fully advocate for WFH regardless and to even supplement with an option like DeskPass for those that want to take a break from home. But a portion of those former office costs should go to the workers.