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Return to work plus inflation

10,746 Views | 127 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by double aught
jamey
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Are those who are just now returning to work going to get smacked in the face by the inflationary costs thst were partially hidden by working at home which the the rest of us have been facing?

I did a quick calculation and came up with working from home saves a solid 5K/yr, or a little more than 400 a month.

I returned to work back in Nov of 2020 but I gotta say I was a little jealous of my homebody coworkers, hence checking the math on gas cost and wear and tear on my vehicle. I even ran it past my boss and he had come up with a similar number


Anyway, since the new year the drive home is noticeably longer due to more traffic than I've seen since early March 2020.

People are bound to notice the monthly cost increase. From mid March 2020 to Nov 2020 I put gas in my truck twice. I missed those cheaper days back then but that was a long time ago for those of us that been back at work the last few years.
Ragoo
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I am back to taking the bus because it got so expensive to drive into the office. Even just 3 days a week.
jamey
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Ragoo said:

I am back to taking the bus because it got so expensive to drive into the office. Even just 3 days a week.


Yeah, it's a meaningful cost. My 5K a year estimate was based on my weekly drive in a Tacoma. I'd guess I'm below average.
Cyp0111
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Gas , plus lunch and coffee ets. It's prob closer to $600-800 mth
Kenneth_2003
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Far as I'm concerned fuel, tolls, and vehicle wear and tear can have a seat at the kids table in the discussion. Lunch and coffee do not get a seat at the table.

First of all this is only a discussion because we drastically expanded WFH in 2020, and we're now seeing that (Covid aside) the pendulum has swung too far and is swinging back. It's the individual workers choice though to determine what vehicle you drive and where you live. No different than before Covid.

Lunch? Coffee? Nothing says you have to start eating out just because you have to drive to the office.

Sorry. My job required me to be in the office throughout Covid. There's no sympathy here from folks that are being called back into the office.
SnowboardAg
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I pretty much don't do the lunch / coffee thing any longer. Oil changes are definitely more expensive ($100), but we drive practical vehicles and run them till they die. Dry cleaning has always seemed high to me (and higher since Covid), but it's a trade off between buying clothes more frequently or paying for quality dry cleaning.
Ragoo
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I buy wrinkle free and wash at home. Dry cleaning is a hassle on top of a cost.
jamey
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I forgot about tolls. For me that's probably another $80 a month
LMCane
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in the private sector corporate world we have been back in the office since April 2021.

18 miles each way, which is 45 minutes sometimes in DC traffic. fuel, dry cleaning of $3 per article times 10 = $30 a week in dry cleaning

I don't drink coffee and my company has breakfast bars, soft drinks, bottled waters and snacks. parking is free in the building garage. no tolls
htxag09
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Agree with Kenneth. If you start talking about lunches and coffee then I'm just going to move on from the argument.

For a counterpoint, we've been hybrid for awhile now, going into the office 3 days a week. My yearly costs is absolutely under $1,000 for going into the office. What happens when you live <5 miles from the office.

This argument is really no different than it was pre-2020. Cost and time of driving to office has always been a factor and major consideration in choosing jobs. Just a new variable now with more wfh jobs.
lck90
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People on TexAgs work? I thought we were all millionaires.
YouBet
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jamey said:

Are those who are just now returning to work going to get smacked in the face by the inflationary costs thst were partially hidden by working at home which the the rest of us have been facing?

I did a quick calculation and came up with working from home saves a solid 5K/yr, or a little more than 400 a month.

I returned to work back in Nov of 2020 but I gotta say I was a little jealous of my homebody coworkers, hence checking the math on gas cost and wear and tear on my vehicle. I even ran it past my boss and he had come up with a similar number


Anyway, since the new year the drive home is noticeably longer due to more traffic than I've seen since early March 2020.

People are bound to notice the monthly cost increase. From mid March 2020 to Nov 2020 I put gas in my truck twice. I missed those cheaper days back then but that was a long time ago for those of us that been back at work the last few years.
Most of the people that I know fighting RTW know this will be a smack in the face which is partially their argument for keeping WFH as much as possible. They know their expenses are going to rise. And they know their time commitment to get there and back will rise substantially in some cases (time is money). Obviously, the other reason they want WFH is the flexibility.

Are they valid arguments? Depends.
Flashdiaz
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There's no turning back on wfh now. Those companies that force workers back without a hybrid approach will lose them to companies that do offer it.

Of course this is industry specific but if you can do your job at home or an office just the same, those employers will need to adjust or lose on top talent that has options.
Dan Scott
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Has there been an increase in home electricity usage by WFH that offsets the commuting cost?
Ragoo
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Electricity is still relatively cheap

And extra usage is minimal
Ragoo
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The time suck of commuting is huge. I would work 7:00-5:30 or 6 from home and more like 7:30-4:30 in office.
jamey
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I forgot whats probably the biggest smack in the face cost for some.

Daycare


When me and my wife both worked from home that cost was 0. When I went back to work it was a bit much for my wife alone who's company was not big on kids in the background.


$1250 a month or 15K a year.


Add that to the gas, and tolls not to mention wear and tear in a car...


Some folks are looking at 20K
htxag09
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May be controversial, and I know every job and kid are different, but daycare shouldn't be included in that. Caveat would be "mom/parent friendly" jobs, for example we have a friend where it's encouraged to keep kids home and they understand that causes disruptions. But, for most, kids are a major strain on being able to wfh effectively.

My wife and I both worked from home for awhile. Zero chance we could've kept our kid home.
jamey
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Lots of variables from the kids age and how difficult they are to how accommodating the job is.

But bottom line for a lot of parents going back to work there's no choice now.
htxag09
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jamey said:

Lots of variables from the kids age and how difficult they are to how accommodating the job is.

But bottom line for a lot of parents going back to work there's no choice now.

I mean if you're talking daycare, and at 12 months a year, really not that much variation, at least for age, the kids are 0-5. They may be "easier" than others but still aren't self sufficient or responsible and require supervision.

Our kid is pretty easy. But if we were to keep him home it'd basically require my wife and I to coordinate our schedules and block off half the time each. Just never know when a toddler will have a melt down, make a mess, etc. And I just don't feel right not accepting meetings or dropping out of meetings because I'm watching my kid.

And things like this are why I always question studies where everything is so much more efficient with wfh and why I'm not surprised more companies are requiring employees to be back in the office.
YouBet
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jamey said:

Lots of variables from the kids age and how difficult they are to how accommodating the job is.

But bottom line for a lot of parents going back to work there's no choice now.
No choice because there literally isn't one? Or no choice because they simply don't want to go back to it?

I completely acknowledge the cost burden that daycare is but it does seem to be a "not my problem" from the employer standpoint. We made it work for decades until COVID happened and now all of a sudden people say it can't be done. It can be done; you just go back to sacrificing or a spouse decides to stay at home.

It's as if we suddenly can't adapt as a species now. Now, if humanity is colluding, if you will, and are all demanding that kids now require the parent to have WFH as an option then maybe you can dictate to the market that it be so. And maybe that is where we are.
CapAmr05
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Wear and tear + Gas on commuting is absolutely an impact; inflation only exacerbates it.

Wife got her new car (@ 0 miles) in May 2018
  • Prior to lockdowns she was working 9 of 10 days a week in office; +/-80 miles round trip
  • She worked from home during most of the lock down (maybe 1 trip into the office every 2 weeks)
  • Post lock down she works 3 days a week in office
Her current mileage is 130k; she fills up a minimum once a week

I got my 'new' car (used @ 19k miles) in August 2019
  • I've been W@H long before any of the pandemic and still W@H now
My current mileage is 54k; I fill up once every 2 weeks
jh0400
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Flashdiaz said:

There's no turning back on wfh now. Those companies that force workers back without a hybrid approach will lose them to companies that do offer it.

Of course this is industry specific but if you can do your job at home or an office just the same, those employers will need to adjust or lose on top talent that has options.


The challenge with this approach is that current top talent has options, but the lower level employees in roles that make use of an apprenticeship model are falling behind relative to where they should be had they worked in an in-person environment.
jamey
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YouBet said:

jamey said:

Lots of variables from the kids age and how difficult they are to how accommodating the job is.

But bottom line for a lot of parents going back to work there's no choice now.
No choice because there literally isn't one? Or no choice because they simply don't want to go back to it?

I completely acknowledge the cost burden that daycare is but it does seem to be a "not my problem" from the employer standpoint. We made it work for decades until COVID happened and now all of a sudden people say it can't be done. It can be done; you just go back to sacrificing or a spouse decides to stay at home.

It's as if we suddenly can't adapt as a species now. Now, if humanity is colluding, if you will, and are all demanding that kids now require the parent to have WFH as an option then maybe you can dictate to the market that it be so. And maybe that is where we are.



No choice because you can't leave a 3 year old at home alone.


And I'm just saying it's going to be an increased cost for many


I mean we drove into to work for decades pre covid too. It's still about t9 be a significant cost increase.

This is not a work from home debate. I'm talking about the real cost change for millions
techno-ag
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jamey said:

Are those who are just now returning to work going to get smacked in the face by the inflationary costs thst were partially hidden by working at home which the the rest of us have been facing?

I did a quick calculation and came up with working from home saves a solid 5K/yr, or a little more than 400 a month.

I returned to work back in Nov of 2020 but I gotta say I was a little jealous of my homebody coworkers, hence checking the math on gas cost and wear and tear on my vehicle. I even ran it past my boss and he had come up with a similar number


Anyway, since the new year the drive home is noticeably longer due to more traffic than I've seen since early March 2020.

People are bound to notice the monthly cost increase. From mid March 2020 to Nov 2020 I put gas in my truck twice. I missed those cheaper days back then but that was a long time ago for those of us that been back at work the last few years.
Get ready for even higher gas now that the election is over. Uncle Joe is not manipulating the price anymore with SPR releases and other chicanery.
jamey
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techno-ag said:

jamey said:

Are those who are just now returning to work going to get smacked in the face by the inflationary costs thst were partially hidden by working at home which the the rest of us have been facing?

I did a quick calculation and came up with working from home saves a solid 5K/yr, or a little more than 400 a month.

I returned to work back in Nov of 2020 but I gotta say I was a little jealous of my homebody coworkers, hence checking the math on gas cost and wear and tear on my vehicle. I even ran it past my boss and he had come up with a similar number


Anyway, since the new year the drive home is noticeably longer due to more traffic than I've seen since early March 2020.

People are bound to notice the monthly cost increase. From mid March 2020 to Nov 2020 I put gas in my truck twice. I missed those cheaper days back then but that was a long time ago for those of us that been back at work the last few years.
Get ready for even higher gas now that the election is over. Uncle Joe is not manipulating the price anymore with SPR releases and other chicanery.


Yeah, that and demand.



I don't know what percent of the population has transitioned from work at home to office since January but it's noticeably different than it was the last 2 years based on the trafic I'm seeing
Cyp0111
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People are worried about their job so back in the office .
BenTheGoodAg
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Ultimately capitalism will prevail and the market will hit a new equilibrium. If companies have a legit need for people to be in the office, they'll have to figure out how compete for some of the same people who can work from home.

The WFH opportunities have always existed, but both employees and companies haven't realized the scale of opportunities that were there to cut costs until 2020.

Knowing what you know now, would have you have taken a slight pay cut to work from home?
YouBet
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jamey said:

YouBet said:

jamey said:

Lots of variables from the kids age and how difficult they are to how accommodating the job is.

But bottom line for a lot of parents going back to work there's no choice now.
No choice because there literally isn't one? Or no choice because they simply don't want to go back to it?

I completely acknowledge the cost burden that daycare is but it does seem to be a "not my problem" from the employer standpoint. We made it work for decades until COVID happened and now all of a sudden people say it can't be done. It can be done; you just go back to sacrificing or a spouse decides to stay at home.

It's as if we suddenly can't adapt as a species now. Now, if humanity is colluding, if you will, and are all demanding that kids now require the parent to have WFH as an option then maybe you can dictate to the market that it be so. And maybe that is where we are.



No choice because you can't leave a 3 year old at home alone.


And I'm just saying it's going to be an increased cost for many


I mean we drove into to work for decades pre covid too. It's still about t9 be a significant cost increase.

This is not a work from home debate. I'm talking about the real cost change for millions
Of course. Yes, it will be a cost hit.
TXAGGIES
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I frame it to my reports as the savings they get working remote for 2 days not the cost of going from 100% WFH to 2 days a week.

It's all perspective.
Dr. Horrible
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I just paid $20 for a sandwich, chips and a drink at lunch today.
Red Pear Luke (BCS)
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jamey said:

I forgot whats probably the biggest smack in the face cost for some.

Daycare


When me and my wife both worked from home that cost was 0. When I went back to work it was a bit much for my wife alone who's company was not big on kids in the background.


$1250 a month or 15K a year.


Add that to the gas, and tolls not to mention wear and tear in a car...


Some folks are looking at 20K


That $1250 is only for one kid. What happens when you have two or three? Those costs explode. Even if you're getting a 10% discount for multiples.

Add on top of that - how many of your households depend upon BOTH spouses working to maintain it? Either one spouse goes down to be FTP or you find ways to add a 2nd mortgage to your monthly costs/budget.

And then of course - you can't forget about those companies who think a 2% raise for the year in the face of inflation at 7%+ is acceptable, when it's just confirmation of further erosion of a person's purchasing power. To me, it just seems like people are being squeezed from every angle. Only a matter of time before something breaks.
jamey
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Red Pear BCS Luke said:

jamey said:

I forgot whats probably the biggest smack in the face cost for some.

Daycare


When me and my wife both worked from home that cost was 0. When I went back to work it was a bit much for my wife alone who's company was not big on kids in the background.


$1250 a month or 15K a year.


Add that to the gas, and tolls not to mention wear and tear in a car...


Some folks are looking at 20K


That $1250 is only for one kid. What happens when you have two or three? Those costs explode. Even if you're getting a 10% discount for multiples.

Add on top of that - how many of your households depend upon BOTH spouses working to maintain it? Either one spouse goes down to be FTP or you find ways to add a 2nd mortgage to your monthly costs/budget.

And then of course - you can't forget about those companies who think a 2% raise for the year in the face of inflation at 7%+ is acceptable, when it's just confirmation of further erosion of a person's purchasing power. To me, it just seems like people are being squeezed from every angle. Only a matter of time before something breaks.



Yeah...that's my thought. Something is gonna break with costs squeezing from every angle.


And it's not like these CPI reports everyone is cheering is even close to showing normal inflation.


$30,000 Millionaire
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AG
Buckle up. Your wages aren't going to increase enough relative to the increase in costs. Smartest move you can do as an individual is start living well below your means with the expectations of continuously increasing costs against stagnant wages. Wages are being re-rated without you knowing it.

I would re-evaluate everything: where you live, where you work, and make sure you're optimized and hardened. I don't think we're going to have some Armageddon event and I think everyone who wants work will be able to get work, but I think it's going to be a grind against macro factors that will seem like fighting gravity.
AggieT
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Quote:

make sure you're optimized and hardened
Please elaborate.
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