Office perks create work-from-home conundrum

The next pandemic toilet-paper concern: who pays for it for work-from-home employees?

 

The wire service Reuters took a stab at the question on Wednesday: “As the world convulses in crisis, and tens of millions of us dig in for the long haul of working from home, one question looms large: who pays for the coffee, tea and toilet paper?”

 

Reporting from Amsterdam, the answer there is: the employer, to the tune of two euros, or $2.40, per day. The wire service then quoted a researcher who came up with the number:

 

“That’s meant to cover not only coffee, tea and toilet paper used in work hours, but also the extra gas, electricity and water, plus the depreciation costs of a desk and a chair — all essentials that you’d never dream of paying for in the office. “We have literally calculated down to how many teaspoons there are in an average household, so from there it’s not that difficult to establish the costs,” said Gabrielle Bettonville of family finances institution NIBUD, which is funded by the Dutch government and researched the extra costs of remote working.

More insurance and risk management news on the coronavirus crisis here.