Young woman working from home office and having video conference.
New research has shown that office workers expect the cost of their energy bills to be the biggest strain on their finances as a result of hybrid working.
A new analysis by comparison and switching site energyhelpline.com shows that each day regularly working from home could cost up to an extra £49 ($ 69.50) per household a year, compared with pre-pandemic times.
Working from home for four days a week would add up to £194, three days up to £146 and two days up to £97 a year. Those who continue to work from home for five days a week would see a rise of up to £243 annually.
Companies’ continued shift to hybrid working means the higher costs of home offices are being shifted onto staff.
Seeing it as an opportunity to cut costs, among companies that have championed a move to working from home long-term in recent months is Lloyds Bank (LLOY.L), which said it plans to reduce its office space by a fifth as part of a push towards flexible working.
Lloyds said that it planned to shut 20% of its office space by 2023, a dramatic reduction in overheads.
Banking peer HSBC (HSBA.L) also said it plans to radically slash its office footprint in the coming years as it cuts staff. The bank said it hopes to to reduce its office space globally by 40% “over the long term”. The plans do not apply to the bank’s branch network, chief executive Noel Quinn said.
Read more: How to navigate hybrid working post-pandemic
Twitter (TWTR) was one of the first companies to roll out a working from home policy, announcing in May last year that its employees could work from home ‘forever’.
At the time, the company, based in San Francisco and with an office in London, employed around 5,000 people and said it was one of the first companies to go to a work from home model in the face of COVID-19 but that “we don’t anticipate being one of the first to return to offices.”
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