Don’t let the return-to-office commotion muddle the fact that workers are happy to make the trek in—if they get something in return.
According to exclusive data from a report from video-conferencing devices company Owl Labs, first provided to Fortune, almost all (94%) of workers are willing to make an office return—but they’re underwhelmed by the current suite of perks companies are shelling out for. In a post-pandemic world, the ante has been upped, and they expect bosses to level up—by paying up—too.
Workers don’t want to give up the benefits and flexibility of working from home, Owl Labs’ CEO, Frank Weishaupt, tells Fortune: “Going to the office can be slightly daunting for employees when it means spending more money on food or giving up the comfort of taking a video call in a private, quiet space.” As a result, they’re asking for designated private spaces, lenient dress codes, and free or subsidized transit costs and meals to ease the transition.
The perks they’re after aren’t wellness rooms or ping-pong tables. What they really want is to save money. Nearly two in five (38%) hybrid workers told Owl Labs they’d be more likely to go to their office voluntarily if their companies shelled out for their commuting costs. That’s the most desired perk by a wide margin, and it’s no wonder why. “Working remotely is often a money saver because it reduces commuting costs to zero, while also making lunch, coffee, et cetera, much more affordable,” George Anders, LinkedIn’s senior editor at large, told Fortune earlier this year.
Indeed, earlier Owl Labs research has found that remote workers spend half the amount of money as in-person workers. The commute, lunch, and occasional coffee, among other little expenses, can add up to $863 per month, or $10,356 a year; similar discretionary spending for home-based workers is just $432 a month. No wonder Owl Labs' most recent survey finds that nearly a third of workers said free or subsidized meals, snacks, and beverages would be a huge pull in getting them back to their desks.
And, over a quarter (28%) said they’d be swayed by subsidies or on-site alternatives for childcare or eldercare, which is probably unsurprising given the national average price of childcare is around $10,600 annually and the rapidly approaching childcare cliff fall-off.
Across the $68 million workers in professional sectors, the yearly costs of childcare, commuting, and lunch add up to $1.4 trillion a year—the price employers would have to pay to get most workers back to office.
It's not all about the money
Then there are the less concrete attractions: More than a third said having more privacy in the office—namely, quiet spaces to take calls and video meetings—would help draw them back in. Having a well-defined way of knowing when the people they want to see will be in-person is another big motivator.
Finally, taking a cue from Sen. John Fetterman, workers would love to abandon hard pants altogether, and would be thrilled if their office would kill the dress code. One in four workers told Owl Labs they’d be enticed to return to their office if they could wear whatever they wanted. That’s a free and easy way for companies to throw workers a bone. If companies don’t have a budget for the fancier perks or benefits, loosening dress code requirements could be a hugely popular move. A flexible (or, better yet, nonexistent) dress code is important to nearly three in four (72%) of workers Owl Labs surveyed, and a quarter of workers said they’d go so far as to take a 15% pay cut for the privilege of wearing athleisure or sweats to their desk.
Whether it’s lunch, attire, or subway swipes, the onus is on bosses to put sought-after changes into action. “It's up to companies to implement policies that will make the office desirable and commute-worthy for their workers,” Weishaupt says.
He’s held steady on this point; one year ago, before all the Labor Day mandates, he told Fortune the same thing. “Companies that want to bring workers back to the office this fall might try providing a stipend, free lunch, or pre-tax commuter benefits to help offset these in-office costs,” Weishaupt said in September 2022. Some things never change; maybe this year bosses will listen.
