The remote work fight isn’t over: Workers are willing to take a major pay cut, up to 25%, according to new Harvard study
Many major companies such as Amazon, Walmart, JPMorgan and Uber have imposed a five-day week in the office, while others including Google, Apple, Meta and Microsoft have returned to three or four in-person days. But workers still rebel against return-to-office policies by showing up late, leaving early, “coffee badging,” and stealing snacks. Some are even working from home when they’re supposed to be in the office, a trend dubbed the “silent hybrid” and one that managers feel too overwhelmed to implement.
A new study by researchers at Harvard University, Brown University and UCLA shows that workers still value remote work so much they would be willing to accept a significant pay cut in order to get it.
“On average, individuals would be willing to give up approximately 25% of total compensation for a job that is similar but offers partial or full remote work rather than fully in-person work,” say researchers Zoe Cullen (Harvard), Boubak Pakzad Horson (Brown), and Ricardo Pérez Truglia (UCLA).
To put that into perspective, if a candidate gets a $200,000 job offer that requires five days in the office and another $150,000 offer that allows for remote work, the candidate who wants to work from home will on average take a pay cut of $50,000, Pérez Truglia told The New York Times. Wall Street Journal.
New results from the study
The researchers collected survey data between May 2023 and December 2024 in a field experiment using Levels.fyi, a platform that provides comprehensive pay data for technology professionals. The survey collected detailed data on the job offers and alternatives workers ultimately chose, including characteristics such as total compensation, location of work, and whether the position was remote. The study also used Glassdoor data including employer ratings as well as quality of life and cost of living metrics.
While workers need not be willing to accept a pay cut to work remotely, previous studies have underestimated the degree of a pay cut they will accept, according to the Harvard-Brown-UCLA study.
“Our estimates are three to five times higher than those of previous studies, which we attribute in part to methodological differences,” the researchers explained.
In May, LinkedIn released a study that showed that nearly 40% of Gen Z and millennial workers said they would take a pay cut in exchange for more flexibility around their workplace. The share across all generations was 32%. They surveyed 4,000 workers based in the United States. Another study this year by staffing firm Robert Half showed that when the gap between a candidate’s salary expectations and offer is too large, many employers negotiate remote and hybrid work to convince candidates to sign.
Flexibility in dealing with money
Laura Roman, director of talent acquisition at London-based marketing firm Up World, wrote in a LinkedIn post in April that one of her candidates took a pay cut of £7,000 — about $9,300 — in exchange for a fully remote position.
“The founder was hesitant at first. She couldn’t understand it. Why would anyone willingly accept less money?” Roman wrote. “But then it worked. They were offering something that was just as valuable as (that candidate’s) bigger salary: flexibility.”
“Not everyone can afford to trade money for flexibility, but for those who can, it has become a no-brainer,” she added.
As previously stated by Teresa L. Fesenstein, founder of human resources consulting firm Peoplepower.AI luck She’s seen some job candidates accept 5% to 15% less pay for remote work.
“There is an unspoken exchange rate between flexibility and companies, and for some candidates, it is worth a big trade-off,” she said. This is especially true for “those who value work-life balance or who save on commuting costs.”
However, others are not keen on the idea of getting paid less just for working on their couches.
In response to a Harvard Business School study that showed 40% of workers would take at least a 5% pay cut for working from home, one Reddit user asked in a post this year: “Do I continue to work from home and then they cut my pay by 20%? While the company benefits from me not having space in the office (providing electricity, rent, water, benefits, etc.), and not paying for a service Internet, phone, etc.?
“Absolutely not,” the user wrote.
Would you accept a salary reduction for remote work? Send your ideas to sydney.lake@fortune.com.
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2025-10-10 15:41:00
