US workers going back to the office face shock of higher prices

NEW YORK • As security software company KnowBe4 weighed whether to require a return to the office (RTO), executives knew to anticipate a certain set of concerns from employees: less flexibility, more time in transit.

Then, in recent months, came a new set of worries about RTO: the rising cost of petrol and food, especially near the firm's headquarters in Clearwater, Florida, one of the areas of the US hit hardest by inflation. Workers advised one another on their internal messaging system where to find cheap petrol. The firm tried to ease the transition by offering free snacks.

But some employees, partly put off by RTO expenses, including dog sitters and childcare, told their managers they preferred to keep working from home.

In January, KnowBe4 informed its roughly 1,500 employees that most could continue working remotely indefinitely.

Employers' RTO plans, already strained by concerns about the spread of Covid-19 and the demands of an emboldened workforce, are now colliding with the pressures of inflation.

The cost of a daily routine - travel, coffee, food - is far pricier than it was when offices shut down two years ago. Consumer prices were 8.5 per cent higher last month than they were a year earlier, the fastest 12-month inflation rate since 1981.

Ms Becky Frankiewicz, US president of ManpowerGroup, a global staffing agency with more than 4,500 offices, said: "We're ready to get back to work, and now can you afford to get back to work?"

Average petrol prices in the US hit US$4.33 a gallon (S$5.95 for 4.5 litres) last month, compared with around US$2.60 in 2019, according to AAA. And with the labour market still tight, firms are fielding calls from workers asking for more flexibility or pay raises.

The talent shortage has boosted pay, but not enough to keep pace with inflation; wages grew 5.6 per cent in the last year.

Some employers said they were planning to give raises. Other businesses said they had not yet adjusted wages. But for those asking their staff to give up the flexibility of remote work, the pressure to raise wages has grown.

"Remote work started off as a safety measure," Ms Frankiewicz said. "Now it's a cost-containment measure." She noted that some workers her company had placed were now seeking short commute times to manage costs, and some companies were offering petrol cards, transport vouchers or ride-share options. ManpowerGroup has received five times as many comments from workers saying rising costs were affecting where and whether they worked as it did in the same period last year.

"It was 'I don't want to make the commute'," Ms Frankiewicz continued. "Now, it is 'I can't afford the commute'."

Firms are trying to head off the clashing forces of inflation and RTO expenses with attempts to make transport and food more affordable. The Bureau of Labour Statistics noted in its recent consumer price index that the price of food at workplaces had fallen even as broader meal prices rose, most likely a sign of firms' "widespread free lunch programmes".

Take OrderMyGear, in Dallas, which recently told its 165 employees that by June many would be expected to begin coming into the office, at least part-time. The firm offered free passes for public transport, free parking, and meals two or three times per week.

Many managers making RTO decisions are not immune to the stress of rising prices. And they know employees who are paid less than them are more likely to feel pain at the pump or coffee shop.

Ms Chris Harris, who manages a team at an advertising company in Portland, Oregon, that has encouraged but not required a return to the workplace, assures her staff she understands their angst about the expenses of an office routine. Recently, she stepped outside for lunch and paid US$12.50 for a brewery pretzel.

She recalled pre-Covid-19 lunches when she spent just US$5 at a discounted cafeteria that shut down during the pandemic.

At a recent work function, Ms Harris found herself fielding complaints from a colleague about the daily cost of RTO. "He was, like, 'Gosh, between parking, my fuel and lunch, I'm paying US$70 to go to work'," she recalled. "It adds up when you've been saving that for two years."

NYTIMES