Some companies offering at-home work to cut costs

According to a new study from the National Bureau of Economic Research, working from home at some companies is replacing a raise or bonus.

According to 500 companies surveyed, 38% reported they offered at-home work instead of pay raises in the last year to lower wage growth and 41% plan to do it in the next year.

Finance, insurance and real estate firms were the most likely to offer at-home work instead of raises.

“This is not new,” said Julie Bauke, chief career strategist for the Bauke Group. “There were studies 20 years ago that said that people would give up 10-20% of their income in order to have more flexibility. And so the workers have been, you know, screaming into the night for years for more ways to manage their lives.”

But she said companies need to keep better track of who is taking the remote option. It could negatively impact the gender pay gap if it’s all working moms.

Last year, a working moms group survey found that 79% would prefer to work from home.

“Over the long haul, women live longer, and they are generally less well resourced as they get older,” Bauke said. “And so we’re going to create another problem if we don’t keep an eye on all of that and find ways to, you know, find ways to creatively address it.”

Overall, she said, if you are a high performer at work and have the numbers to back it up, you may be in a position to negotiate remote work and a raise.

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