The real cost of going back to the office

Sarah Smith (name changed for privacy), an account manager from Hamilton, Ont., was surprised at the cost of her commute when she began to make the trip to her downtown Toronto office three times a week. She had gotten used to working from home and noticed the cost added up.

“I use up half a tank of gas a week just getting to and from the Aldershot GO station,” Smith says. She says she usually fills up half a tank every week. This costs her about $45. 

Then there is her train fare. A one-way adult ticket from Aldershot to Union Station in downtown Toronto is $11.06, if Smith uses a Presto card. The return trip is the same price. That’s roughly $22 a day on train fare alone for the three days a week she commutes, which amounts to $264 a month. With the added cost of gas, Smith’s commute costs a total of just under $444 a month. That’s almost $5,328 a year on getting to the office alone.

With rising inflation, returning to the office is an even bigger money suck. There are, however, some ways to manage the costs of returning to in-office work.

The cost of commuting

How much will driving to work cost you? A lot more, as of late. In May 2022, Canadians could expect to pay an average of $1.95 per litre at the gas pump, a staggering 75% increase since May 2021. Currently, an average-sized (55 litre) tank of gas would cost you roughly $107. 

If you want to work out how much you’ll spend specifically, can use a commute cost calculator that determines your daily cost of gas based on the distance you drive, your city’s estimated gas price (available from CAA), and the fuel efficiency of your car. (To find out the distance in kilometres, use Google Maps or a similar app, and include both directions.) Then multiply the daily cost by the number of days you go to the office per week. You can weigh this cost against using public transit or other options.

While there isn’t much drivers can do to lower fuel prices, you can try a few cost-cutting strategies. Some experts recommend that you plan your route using a navigation app, such as Waze, to find the most efficient routes and avoid being stuck in traffic—draining your tank (and your cash) while you idle.

Carpooling and ride sharing (there’s a difference!) may be viable options. Carpooling is an agreement between two or more commuters where the passengers reimburse the driver for part of the cost of gas. Ride sharing is an agreement between two or more commuters to pay a driver to get to their destination. Consider asking your co-workers if anyone is interested in these options—you could put out feelers on Slack or Teams to see if anyone lives in your area. If no one bites, you can use apps and websites that match you with other commuters. 

You may also be able to negotiate your working arrangements, says Nicholas Hui, an advice-only financial planner at VAVE Financial Planning in Markham, Ont. “Over the last two years, with the pandemic, my clients have been able to show that they’re still able to get the work done from home,” Hui says. Perhaps you can propose coming into the office once a week for a Monday meeting, rather than several days a week, he says.

The food cost (and “lunchflation”)

Your lunch break might be breaking the bank.

Sanjita (name changed for privacy), who works in the financial services industry, says that when she was working from home, she would prepare food on her lunch break. However, her employer has asked her to return to the office three days a week, which may soon become four. Sanjita says she ends up spending about $15 a day on lunch, not including coffee, which she doesn’t buy because of the added cost.

And because of her lengthy commute, dinner is off the table, too. “After getting back from the office at 6 p.m., I won’t even feel like cooking dinner, so I order UberEats,” she says. “I’m spending a lot of money on food right now.” She says a typical order from UberEats costs her $30. Over one year, if Sanjita spends $15 a day on lunch plus $30 on dinner, three days a week, this would amount to $7,020, assuming she worked all 52 weeks. 

The accumulated cost of buying lunches can certainly move the needle when it comes to having disposable income, says Natasha Knox, a Certified Financial Planner at Alaphia Financial Wellness. You also need to factor in “lunchflation,” a term used to describe how food prices have skyrocketed in major Canadian cities since the beginning of the pandemic. Groceries were almost 10% more expensive in April compared to April 2021 (the largest increase since 1981) and a getting takeout is more expensive, too. A study by electronic payments provider Square found that from March 2020 to March 2022, the price of sandwiches rose by 14%, wraps by 13% and salads by 11%.

Brown-bagging it is still likely the better option for your chequing account. However, that overpriced Greek salad may be worth it for your spirits. “For many people, going out for lunch is as much about connection as it is about food,” says Knox. If you don’t want to miss out, she recommends a balanced approach. “Choose one day for going out to lunch with colleagues, and pack a lunch the remainder of the time.”

If you’d rather buy lunch more often, she suggests loading up on snacks so you can order a smaller entrée while dining out.

The time cost  

Dave Kennett, the Vancouver-based founder and CEO of sales training firm Replayz, looks back on the number of hours he spent commuting to and from the office during his career. By his calculations, he spent approximately 495 days (based on eight-hour workdays) in his car: 50 minutes each way for 12 years. Kennett now works from home, as do his employees.

“To me, it was the time with my family and productivity at work that was affected,” Kennett says.

Let’s break this down for a shorter period. If you return to the office for, say, three days a week, and your commute is 50 minutes each way, you would spend five hours a week (50 minutes x two ways x three days) commuting. That equates to 20 hours a month spent in transit (almost three workdays per month). In one year, that would amount to 240 hours, or 30 eight-hour workdays. 

On the bright side, however, Kennett says he was able to use some of that time to think or listen to podcasts.

Find habits that work for you—especially when it comes to food

Creating sustainable habits is key to managing your budget when you return to the office. But remember to be realistic about what works for you, personally. 

For instance, if you hate cooking, don’t force yourself to set lofty meal prep goals. “If you’re not inclined to spend time in the kitchen, accept this about yourself and consider planning items that are easy and quick to prepare or assemble,” says Knox. She suggests thinking of it as weekly food planning rather than “meal planning,” which implies a lot of cooking. There is some evidence that meal kits may reduce wasted money and food, as they are carefully portioned. This might be a good option if you are time-strapped and not very comfortable in the kitchen. With meal kits, you’ll have ingredients for some lunches and dinners ready to go—which means less (costly) dining out.

As for getting to the office, walking or biking to work is an economical choice, but not necessarily feasible or realistic for all, says Knox. For those who are able, public transit is worth exploring. For drivers, “carpooling, now more than ever, is going to be a really good thing to explore,” Knox says.  

Wondering if you can claim your commute costs on your taxes? Generally speaking, ordinary commuting costs are not tax-deductible, says Knox. She recommends getting qualified tax advice on the specifics of your work situation.

Assess the costs and benefits of remote work in your life 

If your employer has asked you to return to the office full-time or part-time and that’s no longer a viable option for you, you could try to negotiate a change or find remote work elsewhere. To determine your next move, it can help to compare the costs and benefits of your current situation with those of a potential new job.

You can conduct a cost-benefit analysis with a spreadsheet. List all the costs of returning to the office in one column, and the benefits in another. Financial costs might include transportation (public transit, gas, parking), childcare, dog walking services and lunches. Then assess the benefits of a hybrid work arrangement. For example, maybe going to the office a few days a week means you can use your employer’s gym rather than paying for your own fitness membership. It’s also possible that you could earn higher compensation if you return to the office at least part-time, compared with fully remote work. 

The intangible costs of returning to the office may include things like having reduced energy, missing out on time with your family, or increased stress, Hui says. As for the benefits, consider things like increased face time with your manager or boss, and greater social opportunities. 

“Rather than look at the straight salary, for instance, you can try to quantify all the other benefits of working from home, and then weigh any difference in salary,” says Hui. “There are both tangible and intangible costs of returning to the office and to working remotely.”

More on budgeting:

• Can young people afford to live in the city anymore?
• The real cost of being single
• Want to save money as a renter? Don’t cheap out on these 5 things
• The best financial apps for Canadians

About Margaret Montgomery

Margaret Montgomery is a former MoneySense editorial assistant and MoneyFlex columnist. She studied business administration at Wilfrid Laurier University and journalism at Centennial College.

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