A new study found that remote workers in the UK sacrificed pay growth in the first two years after the Covid-19 pandemic.
In contrast, in-person staff saw bigger gains to compensate for the lack of WFH benefits.
The findings were based on an analysis of official wage figures from January 2018 to December 2019 and from September 2021 to December 2023.
They also analyzed UK data from the Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes. The survey asked 1,800 adults questions about their working arrangements and preferences.
Those who could work from home for a few days a week saw wages grow 2% to 7% slower than other occupations.
According to many university papers this is called a “significant remote work wage penalty.”
The researchers found that the non-salary advantages of working remotely outweighed the relatively lower wage gains.
For many, the ability to work from home is in itself a substantial job benefit, like access to free child care or a company car.
However, for non-remote employees, the researchers calculated that the salary boost compensated for having to work in person every day.
The study also found working from home appears to cater for better educated employees. They are more likely to work in consulting, software programming, or other jobs that don’t require their in-person presence.
Those living in larger houses or further away from the city are both more able and more willing to work from home.
When looking at total compensation, taking into account both wages and in-kind WFH benefits, researchers found hybrid working did not widen inequalities between in-person and remote workers. In fact, it had no effect on the gap.
