Employers are going to be faced with the question and having to decide, “Who stays working from home post-pandemic?” and the answer may not be what you expected. While the average productivity is clearly up by 23% or more for telecommuters working from home during these unprecedented times, if employers are going to have to select only, let us say, 25% of the workforce to continue to work from home, who will it be?
Who Will Continue to Work from Home?
The word on the management street is that the first choices will be the highest-paid employees, those making $150,000 or more per year.
If you are earning under that dividing number, you may find it disconcerting, but remember your employer is looking after his bottom line, the return on his/her investment.
If you are making $150,000 per year, you are earning $75.00 an hour. Think about it. If your employer is paying you $75.00 an hour to stay home, the company or organization is making a $17.25 return on their workforce expenditure on that employee every hour. They only pay $75.00 per hour but receive a $92.25 return on that investment (ROI). That’s $34,500 in their pocket every year.
That is a full-time $17.50 per hour employee free for a year. Though clever management would most likely make far better use of over thirty grand than pick up a free low-wage employee.
If you are making $30.00 per hour ($58,500 per year) $6.90 per hour on your working from home. Still, $13,455-a-year is not chump change.
You can see why those higher-paid employees are going to get first dibs on the telecommuting gigs following the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. It is all a matter of working the numbers. It is also clear that if your performance has only been on an even keel since you have been working from home (that means your performance value has stayed the same and you are not a part of the remote workers who have increased their performance from working from home), you more than likely will be invited to return to work.
On the other hand, many employers will not be forced to make such hard decisions. These are the companies and organizations who are rejoicing at the lockdowns, excited about letting most, if not all, of their staff home, or taking volunteers who may prefer to return to the life of the commuter.
73% of forced pandemic telecommuters are actually hoping to return to work at the office. Many of them will be disappointed when they find out that they are having to stay home to work after the coronavirus debacle.
These employers are already scurrying to get out of their leases, and they not only could not care if you returned to the office, but they don’t even want you to think about coming back. These organizations are the best-positioned to not only survive -but thrive – post-pandemic because they are making the extra 23% in productivity, plus cutting huge overhead costs.
And if you are thinking that you can help to glean a little more take home at the end of the month by cutting your expenses and moving to the country? Be aware that, generally, Silicon Valley is cutting the salaries of employees who are moving away to save on expenses, which splits the difference (savings) roughly in half. Half for the employer and half for the employee.
As unfair as it may sound, it is happening now and is setting the standard for things to come.
Something else to keep in mind.