We surveyed 3,000 full-time remote employees across the United States, posing a hypothetical question: “What cash lump sum payment would entice you back to the office full time?”
The surprising results are illustrated below.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the dynamics of workplaces around the globe. The adaptation to remote work has also been advantageous for many employees.
However, for the past three years, tens of millions of office workers have navigated through an ever-evolving landscape of working from home and intermittent attempts to return to the office.
We surveyed 3,000 full-time remote employees across the United States, posing a hypothetical question:
“What cash lump sum payment would entice you back to the office full time?”
The average respondent required no less than $12,188. There were significant differences based on location.
For example, South Dakotans would demand a whopping $18,226 to return to the office full-time. West Virginians, on the other hand, seem less bothered about a full time return – they would settle for $5,626.
Notably, 63% expressed a willingness to unionize to prevent a forced return, while 72% believed returning to the office would negatively impact their mental health.
The survey also found that over two-thirds (68%) were more likely to consider returning if their employer offered charitable contributions as incentives.
Finally, beyond the immediate concerns of returning to the office, employees have expressed concerns regarding the future of work itself. The Authority Hacker AI survey found that over half of the respondents (53%) are more concerned about the impact of AI on their jobs than the idea of returning to the office. And our AI statistics page shows that 32.9% of businesses have already replaced human tasks with AI solutions.
