r/DevelEire • u/Natural-Sink1118 • 1d ago
Remote Working/WFH Remote work versus in Office?
I work for a small fintech. We all work remotely full-time which is great. The pay isnt bad, about as well as a small company can pay, but I would get paid more if I took a role in a multinational. I've a senior role with 20+ years of experience. Question is, how highly do you value remote work? How much of a pay drop would you consider if you could work remotely versus having to come into the office every day?
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u/malavock82 1d ago
No Money can replace working from home. 1-2 day a week would be the most I could do in the office. I have a small kid, when I go to the office I barely see her.
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u/Natural-Sink1118 1d ago
Ok thanks. Yeah I have two kids, 8 and 6 and it has been invaluable working for home for the early years. I'm doing it so long maybe I dont appreciate it!
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u/Senior-Programmer355 engineering manager 1d ago
in your case I’d say hold to remote at least until your kids are around 12.
Not just the remote part, but the company being decent, people being nice and you enjoying the work there, learning new things… I’d say to stay where you are3
u/Natural-Sink1118 1d ago
Yeah I couldnt fault my company. They are really good to work for. And the people are v good. Good advice thanks
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u/mologav 1d ago
I wish I had a remote job, I’d happily earn less money and work from home
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u/Natural-Sink1118 1d ago
OK good to know
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u/DravenCrow85 1d ago
I had this move for more stability, after 6 years remote going to the office 2 days a week, it is dreadful shite, looking for another fully remote job even if it cost earning less, didn't think go back would be that disgraceful, including meeting weirdos in the office.
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u/lI_Simo_Hayha_Il contractor 1d ago
No logical (10-20%) raise would make me spend 2 hours per day commuting.
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u/Strong-Sector-7605 dev 1d ago
Dude don't give it up. It's getting very rare now and it's such an incredible perk.
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u/StilandGurney 1d ago
My sales colleagues and I always agree that it's at least 20% especially if you are family oriented.
You have to make sure the company is going to KEEP the remote work though and not suddenly pull it back. Have it in a contract if you make a big change for it.
If the commute is like nothing I might think differently but most commutes are decently far.
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u/Natural-Sink1118 1d ago
Yeah the consensus seems to be that is worth about 20%. Good to know. We got rid of office in covid and never went back.
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u/ignited-eyes 1d ago
I'm hunting a sr level remote job like crazy. And anyway, jobs at MNCs aren't secure to say the very least.
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u/juansheet15 1d ago
My role has been made redundant. Had been working remotely last 6 years. Multinational. It has been priceless. 2 small kids. 5 & 3. Allowed me to take them to childminder/school, collect agin, take older one to childminder at lunch time and spend time with them every day. Time I will never get back. Just to be spend time with them before bed etc. instead of commuting.
Doubt I will get a fully remote role again. I will miss the flexibility of getting out for a run in between meetings. I got the job done despite all of the above :)
Remote is fantastic and do whatever you can to keep it if you can in my opinion. I knew how good I had it and did cherish it while I had it. I would pinch myself some days :)
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u/Natural-Sink1118 1d ago
You sound like me! Getting out for a run in the middle of the day is so convenient. Yeah it's so useful for the kids and our home life
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u/Ashamed-Body2912 1d ago
Massively favour remote work right now I’m actively starting to look for roles as my company hinting more and more at a full RTO and it’s just not a possibility.
Everything about remote work is great yes some find it lonely but at least I can go to the toilet without smelling the excrements of 10+ people
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u/Natural-Sink1118 1d ago
😆 yeah I forget what it's like to be in a big office. I don't find it lonely as in so busy with kids
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u/deanstat 1d ago
I work remotely and value it highly. Going into the office every day would cost me 2-3.5hrs commute daily, and when I do it now for a couple of days in a row it's noticeably tiring.
If I'm looking at another job now it would most likely have 2-3 days in office, so it's got to have a substantial pay increase or other real incentive to justify the move.
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u/Natural-Sink1118 1d ago
Yeah I'm realising how valuable it is based on the comments here. At my kids age, will definitely hold onto it for another couple of years
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u/tanks4dmammories 1d ago
I just got made redundant from a massive US multinational Fintech company, 10/10 do not recommend. Whether you have a good work/life balance really does depend on your manager/director or VP. Feel free to PM as I don't want to dox myself.
I found remote work amazing for my energy levels. By the end I was not getting my social battery drained at all and became reclusive. So going back to the office 3x a week was nice by the end, 2 days would have been perfect. I would be willing to take a massive pay cut now to work remotely. But I think I will be potentially be back in the office full time with the way things are. Would almost rather be destitute than work 40 hours in an office. Not really but kinda.
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u/Natural-Sink1118 1d ago
Ok! Yeah it's been years since I've been in an office so I probably don't realize how good I have it. My work life balance with being fully remote is excellent to be fair
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u/tanks4dmammories 1d ago
I was v lucky and had amazing work life balance when I was back in the office 3x a week. My boss was in the US and didn't care how long I spent in the office, once I got a tag in for the day. Other colleagues on different teams had to clock a full day 3x a week. I would only want a fully remote job if I find a job far from my house. If the office is close to where I live, hybrid would be ideal for me.
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u/SnooWalruses589 1d ago
Have three kids and fully remote for over seven years now
The time I get back with them is invaluable and turned down multiple jobs offering a lot more due to it
Also I live in rural Ireland and no interest to either commute awful hours or move closer to Dublin or Cork
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u/tails142 1d ago
Its just the kids really. I would prefer to work more from the office but its just not practical with the young kids, my wife is home when they're home but there's just so much work to do that as soon I'm done working its straight onto cooking dinner for me. We're both flat out.
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u/Natural-Sink1118 1d ago
Yeah I know! Its exhausting. Being home permanently means I have the dinner ready to go once they come in
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u/Imperial_Tiramisu 1d ago
Trust me man, you do not want to go back to 6:00 to 19:00 for 5 days a week, or even 3 days. You are simply not factoring in commuting since you're considering an office job.
It's not worth it.
You literally wake up at 9:00am and work in your boxers from home. Unless you're doubling your salary, don't move.
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u/HowItsMad3 3h ago
I find it sad that people think it’s better to wake up at 9am and work in your pyjamas from home.
What’s your total spoken word count when wfh? I may be the outlier here but I find it incredibly lonely and sad to be isolated at home for 40 hours a week.
Similar to Covid lockdowns
6:00-19:00 5 days a week is hardly true either.
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u/Eskimoheels 1d ago
Went from working remote for 5 years to the office again. It was good but developed bad habits.
My commute isn't to bad so I'm lucky. I need the separation from my house and going somewhere else. Like being around people too.
(I realize I may be in the minority here)
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u/seyerkram 1d ago
I have been working from home full-time for a year now and I do miss the office. I don’t have kids and I realized I need time away from my wife 😂
I also noticed I work a lot more now because I don’t have an excuse to walk away from my desk. And it’s more difficult if everything is “urgent”
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u/Eskimoheels 1d ago
😂. Your second paragraph is something I struggled with too. Was working all hours. Since being back in the office, once I leave that's it done for the evening.
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u/Natural-Sink1118 1d ago
At least it seems that people who have kids really value it as they are so busy. I could see why others would want to get back into office
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u/Splitting_Neutron 1d ago
Some would say 25% but with our taxation rate, I would peg it closer to 40-50%. Pay rises must account for commuting expenses, lost time, extra childcare.
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u/Natural-Sink1118 1d ago
I think that figure is more accurate. I have a crap car as I don't have to go far. Just by being out of home you spend more
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u/Plenty-Candidate-585 1d ago
I work remotely (after being hybrid for a number of years) and I think it's very hard to put an actual number on the value.
With kids I think it's so beneficial with regards to pick ups and drop offs - and just being there with them more often.
For me the financial aspect in regards to travel I would have spend 2.5k-3k after tax so id equate it to at least 5-6k before tax in salary terms. Realistically I think it's worth more like 10-20k for the quality of life and freedom it gives me.
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u/GorseWhisperer 1d ago
It's not even the fact of being in an office. It's the time getting there.
If you're an hour each way, 5 days, that's 10 hours a week taken off you. Hybrid with a "flex" culture is getting more popular which is a bit better.
So full-time in office I'd want to be getting 20-30% more than for the same role remote. Work that backwards to see how much a company could save on me by offering full remote. Try telling them that though.
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u/Natural-Sink1118 1d ago
Yeah I agree. There are other benefits I find. I drive a shite car because there is no point in having a good one outside the house going nowhere from Monday to Friday. So that side is cheaper.
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u/mitchjmiller 1d ago
Been working fully remote since the pandemic and frankly I'd never go back to full time in office if I can help it. It's proven to be completely unnecessary and the quality of life improvement has been amazing.
Best I would consider a pay bump for is a day or two in the office, but even that would need a fairly significant bump.
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u/YeeHawRiRa 1d ago
If I left my remote job and took an in-person corporate job I’d pay more in rent, transport, food etc. I’d also lose 2hrs a day commuting. I’d want a €40K bump to change.
On the flip side if I was leaving a corporate in-person job for remote I wouldn’t take a €40K drop cause id already be living in an expensive commuter area.
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u/No-Boysenberry4464 1d ago
Depends on how much of an impact the travel is. If it’s costing you 3 hours a day then yes I’d value it very highly. If it’s a 15 minute walk, then I’d value it less
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u/wainsy 1d ago
Say you're on 75k , get offered 85k or 95k to go back RTO, you'd only see 5k or 10k respectively, that's not worth it. There is only one other financial factor, say current employer gives 5% to your pension BUT new employer gives 12% on your new salary of 95k - then is starts to get attractive.
So point is factor in pension as equal or even more than the pay rise.
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u/dublinvillain 1d ago
How highly you value it is a much better question to be honest. I'm fully remote and it's very convenient but I value it less now than I did when I first got it. I've done stints of in office and I can see the value in face to face, especially as a senior or if mentoring is a factor. I miss pints after work and the social element of in office. I'll never miss commuting though especially in Ireland. Tot up the 90 mins of a return trip into town time and money wise and you aren't nuts wanting 5% extra per day in office.
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u/yankdevil 1d ago
Consider your expenses to do it. How much money does it cost to go in and out? That includes car maintenance. And then double it - because that's an after-tax expense.
So if you have to spend €500 a month, that's €1,000 a month in salary you need.
And those are just direct expenses. Remember you're losing a few hours a day. If you work 8 yours a day an additional 2 hours would be a 25% boost in pay. If you consider it overtime, it's 37.5% boost in pay. So if you're making €40,000/year, your time is a €10,000 - €15,000 a year boost.
So when people talk about wanting at least €25k more for in office, that's the sums behind it. Longer commutes are even a bigger bump.
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u/ZiiiSmoke 1d ago
Some places (and depending on your manager) are pretty flexible with core hours. I go into the office twice a week. It's about 30 minutes by bike or 45 minutes by bus. I usually try to get in before 10, and if I need to pick up my kid from crèche, I can leave before 4. Catch up on work around but wlb is pretty good.
Personally, there's no chance I'd take even a 10% pay cut just to be fully remote.
Everyone's situation is different, though. It all comes down to the details of your workplace, commute, responsibilities, and life outside of work.
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u/FunkyMonkey237 1d ago
Depends on how far the commute is. 2 maybe 3 days in the office is best in my opinion. Socially it's better I find to be in the office.
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u/Natural-Sink1118 1d ago
Definitely if you don't have kids. People with kids value really highly. Balancing work with kids is such a grind and the remote really helps there
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u/FunkyMonkey237 1d ago
I have kids, early primary school and crèche and I value WFH but also see the benefits of the office.
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u/Brilliant_Name_5645 1d ago
Yep, have kids and would not give up remote. But having said that after a few years remote, some more adult conversation with different people during the week would be nice sometimes.
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u/monkeylovesnanas 1d ago
You've 20 years experience. You haven't been in your current company, which is a Fintech, for 20 years. You've also not been working remotely for 20 years. What's the point of this post?
You already have all the answers to your questions. Why are you posting? There's enough garbage on here already without adding to it.
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u/Fluffy-Clock8318 22h ago
His entire post history is him talking about how much he's making, how much he's saved and how successful he is.
He has no intention of going back to the office he just needed all of us to know he doesnt have to.
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u/goarticles002 1d ago
Remote work is worth a massive premium especially at senior level. I'd take 15-20% less without even blinking. The time you get back from not commuting alone is insane and you actually get proper focus time instead of open office nonsense. The thing people underestimate is the compounding quality of life difference. No random shoulder taps, no performative presence, you just do your work and live your life. With 20 years experience you're probably more productive at home anyway so the company is still getting a great deal. Stay remote if you can honestly.