Many Americans Will Give Up Salary to Work at Home

How much do Americans want to continue working at home and not return to the office? A whole lot, a new survey indicates.

Many employees will take less pay and vacation time in order to work from home.

Source: Monstera/Pexels

The study, from the insurance company Breeze, felt remarkable to me in terms of illuminating the lengths many employees will now go to avoid offices and instead work "entirely remotely." What started as a forced response to a pandemic has turned into a revolution in how people want to work. Simply put, many folks are willing to take less salary, benefits, and time off to stay the heck out of the office. Let's review some of the findings. According to the survey of 1,000 adult Americans, to be able to work remotely:

• 65% would take a 5% pay cut.
• 38% would take a 10% pay cut.
• 24% would take a 15% pay cut.
• 15% would take a 25% pay cut.
• 39% would give up health insurance benefits.
• 23% would give up 50% of their paid time off.
• 36% would give up their 401(k) or other retirement plan.
• 47% would give up mental health benefits.
• 34% would give up "their right to vote in all future local and national elections for life."

All I can say is: Yikes! You get the picture. To my way of thinking, many of these are massive sacrifices. Sacrificing a retirement fund, health insurance, and substantial vacation time are all pretty radical moves. Additionally, the survey findings were generally consistent across generations. For instance, in terms of willingness to take a 5% pay cut, among Baby Boomers, Millennials, Gen X, and Gen Z, the percentages willing to accept this 5% salary reduction ranged from 58% to 68% ... all in the same ballpark.

A compelling business need?

Despite the clear desire of employees for more remote work options (not to mention the enormous benefits to the environment resulting from less commuting), while some companies are indeed becoming exceptionally flexible, the reality is many are not. Conversations I've had recently with multiple contacts in the workforce show me that many organizations simply want to get back to the way things were, and get folks back in the office. Period.

Well, fine. I get it. Yep, this is the old paradigm, this is how we do it. But the hard question I believe management in all sorts of operations needs to ask is: Is there really a compelling business need for employees to be in the office? Or, stated another way: Is there a critical operational factor that precludes remote work? For example, someone who repairs roofs can't effectively work from home, nor can an Uber driver or an airline pilot. But for many professions, like accountants, actuaries, and lawyers (when not in court), to name a few, much work can easily be done remotely. It's up to management to take the plunge, and to manage remote workers thoughtfully and effectively.

Judging by the results of this survey, companies slow to adapt to an agile new paradigm will likely pay a high price in employee frustration, disengagement, and ultimately turnover.

I've long felt the nine most dangerous words in business are: This is the way we've always done it here.