As the coronavirus pandemic pushes more of the workforce into remote working or, in many cases unemployment, people are pinching their pennies to get through the next few months — or at least until the CARES Act stimulus checks arrive.
According to Forbes, 37% of jobs in the United States can be performed at home. And working at home could be saving people a significant amount of money over the next few months, according to Zippia’s new calculator.
The calculator considers the time and money that can be saved by cutting out commuting, work lunches, coffee stops and even certain grooming habits. The calculator has found that on a weekly basis, the average person saves $92 and eight hours of time by switching to working at home.
That comes out to $4,600 a year.
The calculation is based on the assumption that the worker is paying $2.38 per gallon, $10 per work lunch, $3 per cup of coffee, and driving a vehicle that travels at an average speed of 45 miles per hour and gets the national average of 24.9 miles to the gallon.
Zippia also calculates that the average person spends 15 minutes in the shower each day, and 30 minutes on a daily grooming routine.
By entering in how far you drive to get to work each day, your work spending habits and even how much you pay attention during Zoom calls, you can estimate how much time and money you’ll save each week by not going into work.
But working remotely can create a different set of challenges for people, including many parents who struggle to be productive while balancing home-schooling and family life.
Those struggling to be productive while working from home should make an effort to separate work and home life as much as possible during this time, according to Kathy Morris, Zippia’s marketing manager.
“Remote workers who set up separate work areas and dress for the day are more effective,” Morris told the Deseret News in an email. “That means ditching pajamas and work-from-couch.”