How Remote Work is Impacting Employees Making $19 an Hour and $80,000 a Year

The rise of remote work has brought new challenges to employees such as Eric Deshawn Lerma who have been forced to return to in-person work after enjoying the flexibility of working from home. For Lerma, the extra cost of commuting has thrown a spanner into his budget which he is finding difficult to justify given that he and his colleagues have been doing their jobs from home for the past three years.

Though he initially had second thoughts about participating in the walkout organized by some of his colleagues to protest the three-day-a-week, in-person work policy, Lerma eventually decided to join, recognizing the privilege of being able to work remotely and the responsibility to protect his autonomy as an employee.

This tension between corporate employees who enjoy the flexibility of remote work and those who cannot work from home is further compounded by the fact that many workers who cannot work remotely are organizing and calling for higher wages. The pandemic has exacerbated the divide between white-collar and blue-collar workers, with the former enjoying the safety and convenience of remote work while the latter have had to work on-site and face higher Covid risks.

Corporate employees across industries have come together to demand the continuation of remote work, with some companies insisting that employees return to in-person work. At Amazon, more than 1,000 workers walked off the job in Seattle in May 2022, protesting the company’s return-to-office rule and other issues such as layoffs and the company’s impact on the environment. Similarly, employees at Apple and the Gap have written open letters protesting their return-to-office policies, and at Starbucks, employees have petitioned to continue working remotely.

Unionized workers have shown support for their corporate counterparts, recognizing that workers across all fields have a common interest in improving their working conditions. Warehouse workers in particular have shown support for corporate workers who have the privilege of working from home, even as they recognize the challenges of their own physically taxing labor. These warehouse workers argue that a healthier, happier workforce will only lead to better results for the companies they work for.

While corporate workers recognize the guilt that comes with fighting for their right to work remotely when many others cannot, they also understand the privilege and responsibility they have in their organizing efforts. Though they recognize the benefits of remote work and its impact on their personal lives, they also recognize the importance of solidarity with other workers, including those in non-corporate fields trying to unionize and call for higher wages.