Why Are We Paying To Go To Work?

Not going into an office everyday has cut people’s expenses, leaving more money in their pockets.

We go to work to earn a living. We need to pay rent/mortgages, utilities, food, childcare, and all of the other things we need to have a decent life. We’re also paying out money every month to go to work for others.

Why are we paying out of our own pocket for nice clothes, lunch, a reliable car, gas, insurance, and in some instances paying for parking, so we can go to work? Shouldn’t these big wealthy companies that are making money off of our labor pick up the tab on some of these expenses? (And don’t get me started on healthcare…)

The pandemic showed us that people can work from home and be productive. In some cases even more productive than when they were in the office.

I’m aware that a lot of people didn’t have the option of not going into work. Those people were deemed essential for many different reasons.

There are still a lot of people working from home. Some go into the office on a limited schedule.

A lot of companies and government offices are pushing/demanding people come back to the office on a full time basis.

Why?

It’s all about control. Companies can’t control us completely if we’re working from home.

I’m lucky, on this issue anyway. I’m one of those people who’s self-employed and been working from home for years. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I dated a woman years ago (long before the pandemic) who worked for a large hospital in record keeping. One day the company announced that some people could work off site. She was given the option to work remotely. At first she wasn’t sure if she should. She liked the camaraderie of her office, the people she worked with, and the routine of going into work.

She was told it could be temporary but if it worked out the administration would then require the entire department to work from home, which is something that did indeed happen. For a while she was required to go into the office once a month for meetings. On that day she would dress up, go in for meetings, and work at a desk there so she (and others) wouldn’t fall behind on their work. No members of the public ever saw them working in their offices.

By logging on her computer at home her bosses could see when she was working and she continued to complete all of her assignments on time.

Within a few weeks she realized all of the advantages of working from home. Always an early riser, she logged onto her computer between 6-6:30, did her work, took 30 minutes for lunch, then finished her day between 2:30 and 3:00.

Immediately she saw she was saving money on clothes and gas. Since she wasn’t driving nearly as much her maintenance costs on her car dropped as well.

The other thing was the extra time she had every work day. Not having to get up early, get dressed for work, then drive roughly 30-40 minutes (depending on traffic) each way to the office was giving her an extra two to three hours a day to herself.

She became a lot more relaxed working from home and now prefers working this way.

And then there’s the stress of getting to work.

On those rare occasions I find myself on the road early in the morning when people are heading to work. I am scared to death at the way people drive. They are speeding and cutting in and out of traffic so they won’t be late. They may not get into accidents but I’m sure some of them cause accidents the way they drive.

People get all stressed out if they think they’re going to be late so they drive like idiots and make the whole morning commute dangerous for everyone.

Didn’t these large companies learn anything from the pandemic?

I understand why so many workers don’t want to go back to the office. It’s not about efficiency or camaraderie, or whatever else the companies say. As I said earlier, it’s about control pure and simple.

And speaking of control...

It was bad enough when we got cellphones that are basically pocket computers. With texting, voice mail, and access to our computer files, employers expect us to be available at a moments notice whether we’re at work or not. And they are not giving us any kind of cellphone allowance for this access to our lives.

A long time a go I started turning off my cellphone after my “work day”. I never return business calls, texts, or emails after 6 pm, and never on weekends.

We have to retake control over our lives. We weren’t put here to work ourselves to death for the benefit of a few others. And we certainly shouldn’t be put in a position where we’re paying directly or indirectly for our jobs.

If you want me to show up for work at YOUR place of business and you want me to look nice while I’m there, then you’re going to have to pay me (or reimburse me) for the nice clothes you expect me to purchase and wear. And you sure as hell better not charge me for parking!

By the way, a monthly pizza party is an insult when these companies are making money hand over fist.

Remember our paychecks go farther if we’re not spending money on new clothes, cars, coffee, and lunch. And think about the time we’re getting back that we can spend how we wish.

Time is really the most important thing in our lives. Time to spend with those we love and doing the things we enjoy.

Thanks for reading.

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