Coronavirus and remote work. How Much Does It Cost to Work from Home? How much more do we pay for electricity? Report of the Polish Economic Institute

“According to Eurostat data, in 2020 8.9% of Poles worked from home most of the time (compared to the EU average of 12.3%). However, the potential of employees who could work remotely for part of the time in our country is up to 25 percent ” – we read Tygodnik Gospodarczy PIE.

The institute stressed that “many employees also report wanting to work from home”. “In the PIE and PFR survey conducted in mid-2020, 12 percent of respondents declared that they would like to work completely remotely, and 14 percent declared they would like to work in a hybrid form” – it was written.

WATCH TVN24 ON THE INTERNET ON TVN24 GO >>>

PIE noted that “remote work, apart from comfort, time saving and no travel expenses, also involves additional costs for the employee”.

“The Ministry of Development, Labor and Technology in May this year sent a project on remote work to interministerial and public consultations. According to him, an employee performing remotely duties should be entitled to an equivalent or a lump sum covering, inter alia, the costs of materials and tools, as well as other costs directly related to remote work, in particular electricity consumption and the cost of access to telecommunications links “- the report wrote.

The institute explained that the cost of remote work “varies depending on the employee and the specifics of the job”.

“However, if you count the electricity consumption only – both tools used directly at work (desktop computer, laptop and telephone), and those that we use every day in the office during normal operation (kettle, microwave oven, lighting and a fan in months summer) – this cost in Poland may reach an average of even PLN 250 per year in 2021. ” – we read in the analysis.