U.S. employees spend $51 daily when they work full-time in office, study says

[tenderfoot]

Employees in the U.S. who have returned to the office full-time are paying a lot to get there, a new study says.

The annual “State of Work” report, conducted by videoconferencing company Owl Labs, found that about 66% of employees nationwide have returned to the office five days a week, or full-time, but spend $51 per day when they work in person.

Researchers found that, on average, people spend:
$16 on lunch
$14 on commuting
$13 on breakfast and coffee
$8 on parking

On average, workers with pets spend $20 more than their counterparts, bringing their daily total to $71.

more: https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/u-s-employees-spend-51-daily-when-they-work-full-time-in-office-study-says/

[Voltaire2]

1. so basically a 12,000 tax paid to oligarchs for the privilege of sitting

in a shitty open office for 8-12 hours a day.

[Calculating]

6. Or you can think of it as supporting eateries and local businesses

...

[Voltaire2]

10. If I thought that 'star$s' and the 1000s of other retail storefronts

serving office workers were 'small and/or local businesses' I might agree, although I'm fairly certain that the oligarchs are much more concerned about their real estate investments, and it is ridiculous to ask working people to subsidize private enterprise, and finally whatever actually profitable retail business there is has long ago been consumed by the financialization of everything. It's all Starbucks and McDonalds and the rest of the global retail giants.

[Zeitghost]

52. I drive past a dozen or more McDonalds and Starbucks etc.

And have never been forced to stop and pay for anything, unlike my taxes.

Seems completely voluntary to me.

[Voltaire2]

53. Ok. I was responding to the assertion

that workers have an obligation to support retail businesses.

[Autumn]

63. What if you aren't driving past? What if you are stuck in one area with no time or way to go

somewhere else and you need to eat and McDonalds and Starbucks is all that is close by and time allows you to go nowhere else? That's not voluntary.

[Zeitghost]

67. I face that reality regularly

As I work in rural areas. My solution, for my wallet and my health is brown bagging it. It's really pretty easy, I prep meals for lunch and any dinners for evenings where I know I will be short on time on Sunday. I used to have a bunch of great excuses for why we ate out so much. But they were mostly me being lazy and not planning ahead.

[Autumn]

68. I think there's a bit of difference working in rural areas and working in buildings in town. nt

[Zeitghost]

71. Yes there is

It's much easier to bring your lunch in when you have a fridge and microwave at the office.

[brooklynite]

2. Subway/bus: $5-6 round trip. No parking.

[ProfessorGAC]

3. I Question It Too

I'd really like to see how they collected their data.
A $16 lunch, on average? Seems high.

[Pacifist Patriot]

16. I don't know. The last few times I met up with friends for lunch at a restaurant...

the bills for the two of us easily exceeded $30 before tip. And that's without alcohol or dessert. Not exactly gourmet restaurants either. $13-15 dollar lunch entrees and a couple of bucks for iced tea or soda seems pretty common these days. I'm not in a high cost of living area either.

[ProfessorGAC]

17. But, This Is Average, DAILY Number

Your description does not sound like you do it daily.
I worked for 43 years. I knew almost nobody over 30 that dined out for lunch every day.
And, I worked a lot in reasonably urban settings, though not all.
I saw people eating leftovers, sandwiches or microwave lunches in lunch rooms or conference rooms or at their desk all the time. When not traveling, I went home for a sandwich or salad 3 or 4 times a week. (Yes, I lived only 9 miles of low traffic volume road from work.)
I question this being a daily average. It just seems too high.
So, does the parking number, as there are MILLIONS of people who work at places with the own parking lot. Cost of parking there is zero.
So, I vet what you're saying, but there are conditions that have to be met by essentially everybody at your number.
The "everybody" is a sticking point.

[markpkessinger]

39. It seems high to me also, and I live and work in Manhattan!

I take the subway to work -- $2.90 each way. I typically spend $8-$14 on lunch (not in restaurants). I have no parking expense. And coffee is free at work (I suppose I could choose to get a Starbucks coffee every day, but I don't!) Seems to me that a lot of this "average" is discretionary!

[Horse with no Name]

62. I eat out every day

I work a lot of hours and by the time I get home, I am too tired to cook and prepare lunch for the next day.

[brooklynite]

19. In 30 years of professional work, I never ate lunch in "a restaurant"

I got a sandwich or take out or brought something from home.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

21. Anecdote isn't data

nt

[brooklynite]

26. Fir enough. I can't think of anyone in my Govt organization who "ate in a restaurant".

Beyond being expensive, it's time consuming.

FWIW my wife was a Wall Street lawyer who could afford to eat in a restaurant. If she wasn't meeting with a client, she never did.

[Amishman]

34. Yup, when I worked in an office I packed every day

Leftovers make great lunches

[redqueen]

7. 45% have no access to public transportation nt

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

22. Even when a city has it

It's often shoddy.

Only a handful of cities have decent public transit.

[Trailrider1951]

12. In Brooklyn maybe

Not in Houston or Austin, or many other places throughout this land. Their motto is "You can't get there from here".

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

23. These overprivileged people in good transit cities

Have no bloody clue how awful public transit is in other parts of the country.

When my car was in the shop, I got to experience how bloody awful the transit is where I live. It would take two bloody hours to get to my job, and another two to get home. I didn't have the energy after working a factory job all bloody night to cook, so, yes, I ate out every single day that I worked, and always at the same general area. Because guess what? I had a 50 minute wait at one spot because of course the connecting bus I needed ran only once per bloody hour, but showed up 10 minutes before I could get to the connection point.

Both ways.

So all of you making your stupid remarks about taking public transit?

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

20. New York isn't the entirety of the world.

Shocking, but true.

Try to get outside your bubble.

[Amishman]

35. That is also true, I have zero mass transit options

Not even busea

[Yavin4]

66. As a NYCer, I humbly disagree.

The world ends at the Hudson river.

[Initech]

40. Don't have that luxury where I live, unfortunately.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

61. $1.85 one way on the Metro for me, and that's if

I take the long way. Breakfast is maybe a bowl of oatmeal. If I haven’t brought a sandwich I have a bowl of Progresso soup.

But what do I know compared to a company that sells videoconferencing services.

[forthemiddle]

4. Who spends $29.00 A DAY! On breakfast and lunch?

If they are, they need to look into packing a lunch.
$14.00 commuting? If they do, then I can’t believe they are also paying parking.
I’m not saying that going to the office everyday is cost free, but this seems awful inflated.

[FSogol]

13. My company has free coffee, yet everyday, someone will arrive carrying Starbucks.

I brown bag it most days, but the majority of people go out for lunch 4 days a week.

Some people do spend that much.

[exboyfil]

25. Same for me

Free fountain drinks, coffee, and tea, but still brisk sales of bottled/canned beverages. I figure I save at least $6 a day on drinks. Since I do intermittent fasting, I don't eat lunch. I actually don't like eating out and prefer to make my own meals because of keto. Save a lot of money, but keto does cut down on some economical calories - it is a well to do diet when you cut out potatoes, grains, and beans. High quality olive oil is expensive as is meat, avocados, and fresh vegetables.

[ExWhoDoesntCare]

24. So would you make breakfast and pack a lunch

If you worked 12 hours a day, 6 days a week. plus have a 2-hour commute--each way?

Know what I did when that was my life? I went home only long enough to sleep. I otherwise ate out, because I was too bloody knackered to think about food the few hours I was home--never mind fixing anything.

Not all of us are so privileged as to have cushy 9-5 office jobs in a city with stellar public transit.

In fact, most of us aren't that privileged.

[MichMan]

33. And most aren't privileged to have an option to work at home either.....

So, this study isn't even applicable.

[Retrograde]

50. average spending, across the whole country

it includes brown-baggers as well as those who eat every meal out, and everyone in between.

Even though many companies here have free or subsidized cafeterias on site, I've learned not to try to go to any of the restaurants on Castro Street on Fridays, when it seems like all of Google is there! And there are times during the rest of the week when it's almost that bad. $15+ is a reasonable low-side-of average for lunches around here if you don't brown bag it. Mr. Retrograde and I go out for lunch once or twice a week, and I can report that prices have been creeping up since the end of Covid - the hole-in-the-wall pho place we like just raised its prices and it seems to have no problem getting customers.

Can't comment on costs of breakfasts, since I rarely go out for them

[Calculating]

5. Seems really high

I'll eat breakfast at home, bring in a relatively cheap lunch, and have a Tesla so the drive is almost free. I probably pay $10 a day at most related to physically going to work.

[spooky3]

15. I think it really depends on where you live

In the DC area, if you commute to DC

—if you live far out, you’ll have a lot more gas and wear and tear costs on your car than the average reported; you likely won’t be close to metro. Some people may be able to carpool.

—parking is going to be a lot more than $8 per day

—most people will eat breakfast at home; some will bring a lunch but eating out (if there’s a place near your work) could well exceed $16 with tax and tip

—if you live close to a metro stop and your work is also close to a metro stop, you’ll have those expenses rather than car/parking, and you will also pay much more in housing expenses than otherwise.

[Torchlight]

41. I'm guessing it's an average, allowing for both high- and low-cost day work.

On an anecdotal level, my household hit about a third of the average per person, but that's just anecdotal and means little to the average or the mean.

[Mariana]

51. It sounds like you don't have to pay for child care, tolls, fares, or parking.

[SharonClark]

8. The videoconferencing company would like workers

to stay home and use their services.

Of course the numbers are inflated as nearly everyone has expressed.

[Johnny2X2X]

9. Worked from home full time for 28 months

I definitely noticed the financial benefits. Meals and car expense especially. I basically filled my gas tank like 4 times in 2 years. My car went into a time warp and now I have a paid for car with 60,000 miles on it.

Now I wFH 2 days and go into the office 3 days. Love it.

[hunter]

37. My children have said much the same.

They were fortunate to have jobs where they could do that.

For my wife, a front line health care professional, COVID-19 was hell.

[Johnny2X2X]

42. Yeah

I think Covid and WFH accentuated a new divide in the working force. Those that can WFH and those that cannot. A close cousin was the head nurse at a major hospital on the Covid floor, Covid literally turned her hair from brown to totally gray, it was 2 years of hell for her. For me, Covid was a financial boon, saved thousands on expenses, got a promotion and several raises. Covid allowed me to get debt free with the exception of the mortgage.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

11. I'm a federal employee

And if we’re able to charge for my commute, at the government rate it would be $27.51/day. Parking is free, I take a banana for breakfast and leftovers for lunch.

I normally buy a couple of sodas during the day, so there’s $4, and an occasional cafe mocha at $5.

So my range is $27.51 - $36.51 per day.

[Pacifist Patriot]

14. I work for a 100% remote company.

Most of us frequently express gratitude for not having to spend money on a commute or eating out. We also have lower costs associated with our appearance; clothing, makeup, hosiery, and shoes. We know we have it good.

My husband and I both work remotely. I've done a lot of math on this since March 2020. The savings have been significant!

I still have one employee whining about the "high cost of working from home" because of her electric and internet bills. Girl, don't even try me. I've been the family CFO for decades. That idiocy won't fly. The incremental cost of electricity is tiny and don't tell me you wouldn't have internet connectivity if you weren't working from home. Some people aren't happy unless they are complaining.

I can imagine in some areas that average looks enviable.

[exboyfil]

28. Many families already have high speed internet

It comes before cable television in the priority list. If you have kids in school, it is virtually possible to attend public schools without it (which is a problem).

[Pacifist Patriot]

29. I've been called a radical for this view, but I think high speed internet should be...

as available to every last person in the country as access to a road is. It's become an essential piece of infrastructure, not a utility.

[hunter]

38. Absolutely!!!

Just like rural electrification and telephone service of FDR's New Deal.

[Pacifist Patriot]

45. Kind of. That got the ability to deliver the utility to more people, but didn't make ...

electricity and telephone service free. I sincerely believe no one should be charged for high-speed internet access. It should be a public service like roads and bridges. Paid for by tax dollars. But I am also a realist and know that will never happen.

[hunter]

47. That's easily achievable.

The cost of internet infrastructure is a lot less than roads and highways, electrical power lines, or 20th century landline telephone service.

Universal internet service wouldn't be any kind of budget breaker.

[Pacifist Patriot]

48. Easy to execute, but the providers who charge us monthly for it would howl!!!

[BadGimp]

18. Add in Daycare and you get a much fuller picture.

[exboyfil]

27. In theory if you are working from home

You shouldn't also be doing daycare. I have heard screaming babies occasionally during meetings, and I did have my daughter's dog in my office when it barked.

[Pacifist Patriot]

31. I work for a 100% remote company and a lot of our parents do utilize daycare.

None of us mind hearing kids in the background and we don't bat an eye if someone has their baby with them in a meeting. But some parents would just prefer not to have that split attention or unpredictability of needs during their work day.

[milestogo]

32. I think a lot of parents had children at home during Covid.

Which is not to say it was easily done.

[hunter]

44. Oh my. I've brought screaming babies to physical in-office meetings

Fortunately I worked in a place where that was acceptable.

In those days my wife worked semi-normal hours and I worked completely abnormal hours but had some control of my schedule. It was mostly nights and weekends for me.

In my work there were mandatory office meetings for everyone once a month that lasted an hour or two between the regular and swing shift. I wasn't the only one working outside those hours who brought my young children to those meetings.

That was just normal. If a kid got too disruptive there was usually someone who wasn't essential to that day's most serious agenda items who would scoop up the fussy kid up and take them out of the room. Sometimes that was me, my kid or anyone else's.

Successful human societies have always worked that way. What we've got now is an aberration.

[Tree Lady]

43. And better clothes. Nt

[milestogo]

30. Working from home does save money.

I used to commute and use doggy day care. Haven't paid for parking for a long time. Even if you eat breakfast at home and bring your lunch, its hard not to spend on snacks.

Yeah, working from home has its benefits. And you don't have to get dressed up.

[Marius25]

36. I spent $26 just on parking yesterday at work.

I generally pay around $20 most days I'm at work. That's not counting gas or food if I don't bring it, nor the horrible time wasted driving.

I wish my job had a remote option or I wish I could find remote work.

[MichMan]

54. In my 40 year working career, I never spent a dime for parking for work

[JI7]

58. Does your job refund you for parking costs ?

[Takket]

46. have to admit i'm rather annoyed many of my collegues can work at home

I have a job that requires me to be onsite. But many at my company do not. So they are all pocketing the gas savings, not to mention I spend about 80 minutes a day in the car commuting. which is time that they get to spend doing whatever they want at home. i wouldn't mind so much if those of us that work on site got a bit more in out checks to acknowledge the fact it costs us more to be on site.

[hunter]

49. Automobiles are not tools of freedom as advertised on television...

... they are that ball and chain on your ankles.

w

[MichMan]

55. They are if you live in rural areas without mass transit

I'm in my mid sixties and not very interested in riding a bicycle 15 miles to a dentist appointment or to the grocery & pharmacy

[hunter]

57. Do you choose to live in a rural area or is it a necessity?

If it's a choice than a car is just part of the package.

Generally speaking, the people with the smallest environmental footprints live in cities and don't own cars.

I'm not being critical, I have family living in rural areas.

Nevertheless, I think we should be rebuilding our cities, turning them into attractive affordable places where car ownership is unnecessary.

Many people would choose to live in such places.

My wife and I live in a small city about a mile from grocery stores, a few restaurants, etc.

Our children chose to live in the older walkable neighborhoods of big cities, the kind with 100+ year old housing built before automobiles dominated urban planning. So do some of their cousins.

[MichMan]

60. Yes I chose it when due to a job offer 30 years ago

One of the best life decisions I ever made.

Can't imagine living in an urban setting now. Love the peace and quiet. Not only am I not complaining about having a car, I'm also a lifelong auto enthusiast.

I resent being told where I should live because it fits someone else's preference. Seems very authoritarian.

[hunter]

69. Nobody told you where you should live. Especially not me.

I'm talking about more choices and more opportunities, not less.

Here in the U.S.A. opportunities to live in a nice walkable neighborhoods are severely limited and therefore expensive.

[Bettie]

64. Some people don't like cities

spending a few days in Chicago reminded me of this. Just the closed in feeling of being surrounded by large buildings, so many people on the streets...I just feel trapped.

[uponit7771]

56. +1

[JI7]

59. I think People like to eat out when they go out

whether it's for work or just going out shopping or running errands .

If you are at home all day it's easier to just make something at home. But when you are out you pass by food places and people want to try things and it's easier to just buy something instead of going home and making something.

For work people might also be going out in groups and some may feel they don't want to be left out.

[ripcord]

65. That is fine but if it is your choice don't complain about how much it costs

[Sympthsical]

70. This doesn't even sound kind of right

$29 on breakfast and lunch? That's $580 for a month of work-related meals.

I don't even come close to spending that on house groceries. For two people, we might spend about $250-300/month total.

When I commuted, breakfast was at home and lunch was usually whatever I brought - as it was for most of my co-workers. A taco truck came by everyday, which was an occasional treat and maybe $8 or so, depending. Some people ate there everyday, but it was a comparative few.

Who's spending $30/day on work meals? That screams being either irresponsible with money or well off enough that it isn't that much of expense.

I am all for WFH - my partner and I never looked back once the pandemic started - but that information just strikes me as deeply odd.