The high costs associated with the daily commute and exorbitant property prices mean that returning to the office won’t be possible. The motivation to return will also hit rock bottom because most jobs, particularly those that require a degree, can be done remotely with lower associated costs.
Is Remote Work Better Than A Return To Office?
Of late, Millennials and Gen Zers, in particular, have been availing the freedom afforded to them by remote work. They are traveling to exotic locales living the bohemian lifestyle without remote work getting in the way.
Many appreciate the time, cost, and effort that remote work saves them. With the daily commute out of the way, you have more time (and money!) for yourself and your loved ones.
It is unlikely that workers would be willing to give up these privileges. Showing up to work at the office will curtail these privileges while dramatically adding to living costs.
Property Prices Through The Roof
For one thing, property prices are rising meteorically and are, well, through the roof. This means thatliving close to work is not economically feasible for most.
Take Mountain View, California, for instance, Google’s headquarters. It sure sounds like a pleasant place to live in but property prices are bound to make a living here far less pleasant.
The median property price here in these parts is an exorbitant $1.9 million. How many workers can afford such sky-high property prices just for the sake of living close to the office? Even with a million dollars in your portfolio, you can’t buy property here.
Even Google personnel who are envied for their financial perks and benefits can scarcely afford it. Google workers earning a yearly average of around $135,000 will have to pay a huge chunk of their income towards the home mortgage for the next 3 decades which is hardly viable.
In fiercely competitive property markets like New York and San Francisco, living close to the office is not possible for many workers since traditionally high property prices are now soaring. For such people, they still had an option to live in the suburbs where property prices had a modicum of sanity. But prices are taking off even in suburbs and buying or renting space here is no longer an option for many.
Surging Cost Of Daily Commute
Those who can’t afford to live close to the office have to endure tediously long commutes that cost time, money, and effort. Public transport can be very inconvenient and stressful. Ride-hailing services may be more comfortable, but they cost more. Even if you have your own car, you will have to spend on gas and tolls each day.
And gas prices are now stratospheric. They have risen around 80 percent in just the span of two years. And with the grim specter of war in Eastern Europe coupled with embargos on oil-producing Russia, gas prices will go from bad to worse.
The Solution: Hybrid System
A hybrid system will be more successful. That’s because workers will have the freedom to show up atthe office on just some days of the working week.
Bottom Line
It’s not just employers, but also the White House that’s calling for a return to the office. Sadly, such an approach is out of touch with reality, since property prices, gas prices, and just about all prices are going through the roof.
