Work From Home Employees Are Offered Smaller Salaries

Employers Are Offering Lower Salaries To Remote Workers

Employers are de-incentivizing remote work.

Remote work has become the new norm, but employees are choosing between higher wages and the comfort of working from home. According to Fortune, the work-at-home segment of U.S. workers is offered lower salaries to avoid office life.

The lower salary dilemma affects workers who have benefited from remote work’s flexibility. Many are presented with 15% to 20% lower salary offers than their in-office colleagues. While some employers offer less pay, others use remote work as a perk to attract top talent.

“Remote workers are accepting lower salaries to work remotely. Some are taking as much as 5% to 15% less pay to do so, while other employers are reversing the strategy to entice workers to come to the office with higher salaries,” Fortune reported.

There is no data suggesting that paying employees less for the “privilege” of working from home is a successful strategy. Some believe the plan could backfire. Human resources veterans predict a surge in employee resignations, as companies scale down and insist employees return to the office. This insistence, cuts in benefits, and strict in-office policies are turning off potential hires.

“If you’re trying to lowball remote workers, you’re about to face a harsh reality,” said Amy Spurling, founder and CEO of Compt. “2025 is going to be a ‘find out’ year for companies that thought they could use remote work or other ‘perks’ to replace competitive compensation and genuine employee support.”

According to Pew Research, 35% of American workers work from home, down from 46% during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the decline, the percentage has remained steady for nearly four years after the COVID lockdown.

Remote work is now a standard, mainly as employees and employers have found that it does not hamper productivity. A remote job’s tasks, skills, and workload remain the same, regardless of location.

However, the opposite has been confirmed for companies mandating a return to the office. BLACK ENTERPRISE reported on a study conducted by Vitality that focused on millennial and Gen Z workers in the UK. It showed that lower wages, coupled with office return policies, are causing burnout and reduced productivity. These struggles, particularly among younger employees, have led to a 150% loss in productivity, costing the British economy $176 billion annually.

Only time will tell if the U.S. will face similar challenges.