March 2025

Pay to Play: Would employees take pay cut to work from home? Work Life Remote

By Jason Walsh

Flex workers place a high value on being able to work from home—but how much is it really worth to clock in from your bedroom in your PJs? About 5%, actually. That’s according

to a recent study by Harvard Business School researchers titled "The Rise of Remote Work: Evidence on Productivity and Preferences from Firm and Worker Surveys" published by the Journal of Economics & Management Strategy. According to the research, which polled

older than 50 were less likely to find value in a pay cut, with only 30% agreeing to only a 5% reduction. The desire to work from home at a cost varied by industry, with professionals and those in health and education valuing it the most, while traditionally site- specific professions like construction and manufacturing prioritizing it least. Participants in the research were asked twice about their willingness to accept a pay cut to work remotely—once in December 2021 and again in June 2022. Respondents whose jobs can’t be done remotely were not counted in the survey.

more than 2,300 workers, nearly 40% of employees

would take a 5% pay cut in order to keep working from home.

Approximately 9% would take as much as a 20% cut to remain remote. Workers

4 Reasons Managers Don’t Like Remote Work

n Bad for new hires n Disrupts ability to work as a team

n Results in 3.5 fewer hours worked a week, according to a report by Liberty Street Economics n Productivity drops [Source: Yahoo!Finance]

18 NorthBaybiz

March 2025

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