Since the pandemic an increasing chunk of office jobs have been done from the kitchen table, home office, or anywhere a worker can find the space, and the trend seems to be sticking. One unexpected result of this transition to remote work has been the hidden costs of doing an office job from home. According to a recent LA Times story, remote workers across the country have resorted to lawsuits to recoup out of pocket expenses that have started to pile up.
The burdens of heating, internet, and phone bills, as well as all manner of office supplies once taken as a given when going into work every day are now being shouldered by workers. In some cases these expenses have really added up, with some lawsuits claiming workers have spent thousands of dollars out of pocket.
No where has this crunch been more keenly felt than in tech, where it was industry de rigeur to offer all sorts of perks, like free meals and dry cleaning services, to lure top talent. Tech was a major adopter of the work from home trend during the pandemic and many of the workers saw these perks dry up as they were sent home from the office.
While this might sound a bit precious, many tech workers live in the most expensive areas in the country, and these perks were seen as a necessity to get by in San Francisco, Seattle or New York.
Ultimately, many of the suits argue that these bills should not be footed by the employees but the employers who are already saving boatloads of money by furloughing workers and saving on rents and expenses by passing them along to workers.
