The Blubber

Hybrid Work Saves Employees Thousands, But Costs Are Rising as Companies Push for Office Returns

Baseline estimates from consulting firm Global Workplace Analytics shared with MarketWatch reveal that hybrid employees working from home two days a week save between $305 and $2,357 annually on expenses such as travel, parking, food, and work clothes, based on average nationwide prices.

Notably, these estimates do not include costs like highway and bridge tolls, which vary widely. For instance, Tom Davis, a former Republican congressman from Virginia and president of the Washington, D.C., economic-development group Federal City Council, mentioned during a recent hearing that he spent $30 on tolls commuting into the city. He added that some commuters in the D.C. area might pay as much as $50 during peak times.

“There’s no question from an employee point of view and a traffic point of view that sending everybody back to work is going to have an impact,” Davis noted.

The Global Workplace Analytics estimates also did not factor in savings on child care, which averages $7,000 annually for hybrid employees, according to a survey of working parents. Child-care costs have risen sharply, up 21% in 2024 compared to 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics price index.

Returning to the Office Is Costly for Many Workers

Employees facing higher-than-average expenses for transportation and caregiving are particularly affected by return-to-office mandates.

While the White House declined to comment on the situation, the federal directive on remote work allows department and agency heads to make exemptions they consider necessary.

Meanwhile, private-sector companies, including JPMorgan Chase, Amazon, AT&T, and Southwest Airlines, are requiring employees to return to the office, despite workplaces adopting more flexibility during the pandemic.

In a 2024 survey by videoconferencing firm Owl Labs, hybrid and remote workers outlined their conditions for returning to the office:

• 41% said they would consider returning for higher compensation
• 26% would return if commuting costs were covered
• 26% would go back for free food

Federal Workers and Remote Work

Approximately 1 million federal employees continue to work remotely part of the week, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. In fiscal 2023, 43% of all federal employees teleworked, with:

• 58% teleworking at least three days per week
• 10% working remotely once or twice per week
• 7% teleworking no more than once a month
• Others teleworking based on specific circumstances rather than a set schedule

Additionally, 7% of federal employees are classified as fully remote, meaning they do not work at a federal office site regularly.

Unionized Federal Employees and Potential Changes

Some unionized federal workers have contracts that allow them to continue working hybrid or remote schedules. These arrangements will likely remain in place until current agreements expire or are renegotiated under the Trump administration, according to Reuters.

As debates over remote work continue, hybrid employees are weighing the rising costs of caregiving, commuting, and work-related expenses against company demands to return to the office.