Employees Are Accepting Lower Salaries Just so They Can WFH—Would You?

I consider myself to be one of the lucky ones. You know, one of those people who somehow dodged the return-to-office mandate and still works from home every day of the week. I’m not being dramatic when I say that nothing, and I mean nothing, could get me to go back into an office on a daily basis. However, I had a moment this week, after watching Tinx’s viral TikTok video, when I asked myself, “Would I go back if the price was right?” After considering a few shiny salary amounts, the answer was still a hot, fiery no. But, as it turns out, not everyone feels that way. Even my husband thought I was certifiably insane.

In the video (which garnered over 5.1 million views and 19k comments in a week), Tinx explains that someone asked her whether they should take a fully remote job with a 120k salary or an in-office job with a 240k salary. Long story short, Tinx was baffled that someone, whom she assumed was Gen-Z, would even consider missing out on 120k. According to her, the office is “not that scary.” All you have to do is “Fuck around for a few hours, make some friends, eat the free doughnuts, and leave.” To which I would say, I mean, you’re not wrong.

But take a quick glance at the comment section, and you’ll see that this is a very real debate. One top comment says, “The office is THAT bad,” and another says, “Anyone passing on an extra $120k a year is INSANE.” Both opinions? Valid. It seems to me that the decision is a no-brainer, no matter which side of the coin you fall on. You either see that number and say, “sign me up,” or you say, “no number is worth giving up [insert WFH perk here].”

Read any headline from the past year, though, and you’ll notice a theme: employee exhaustion. Even the most ambitious and dedicated employees are looking for ways to find more breathing room. A recent survey done by Headway revealed that 56 percent of people say that working from home has improved their work-life balance—a phrase that some people have started to laugh at as if it doesn’t exist—but it can. If achieving it means taking a pay cut, some might say, “so be it.” The “conscious unbossing” and “career minimalism” trends that emerged this year prove that employees realize they don’t have to stay in roles or settings that consume their lives.

“Your work and your salary directly impact your quality of life. It’s up to you to decide what you’re willing to sacrifice to achieve a ‘good’ one.”

That’s not to say that considering more money, especially in this economy, should be treated so lightly. Getting double the salary, or hell, even a few thousand dollars more than what you’re currently earning, IS a big deal. I’m not blind to the fact that financial stability weighs heavily on hundreds of thousands of individuals and families. However, flexibility and autonomy are hard to put a price on. They’re worth weighing alongside other benefits like insurance and 401(k) matching.

READ: 8 Benefits You Can (and Should) Negotiate With a Job Offer

The truth is, your lifestyle and your priorities do (and should) affect how you see a job opportunity. It’s not just the “weird” Gen-Zers, as Tinx put it, who see the value in working from home. For example, people who value their time consider a commute wasted time that they’ll never get back. And people who prioritize flexibility, like the many working mothers in the comments, can’t imagine not having it, considering how much having kids affects your ability to do your job and do it well. At the end of the day, your work and your salary directly impact your quality of life. It’s up to you to decide what you’re willing to sacrifice to achieve a “good” one—whatever that looks like for you.

Whether we like it or not, both options require sacrifice. Think about it: If you make more at an office job, you might not feel as stressed when you’re paying your bills, but you might feel like you’re spinning your wheels trying to get all your personal to-dos done and prioritize your social life in the few hours you have to yourself every day. If you make less working from home, you might feel more productive and hit more of your career goals thanks to the lack of office distractions (looking at you, chatty coworkers), but you might also take on more of the housework and feel stretched thin trying to do it all. In considering both options, there is more than just meets the eye.

The decision isn’t about salary, it’s about what matters the most to you in your current season of life. What would more money offer you? What would more flexibility allow you to achieve? Take the job that can deliver on as many of your values as possible. I wish that every job offer came with a desirable salary and brag-worthy benefits to match, but unfortunately, that’s not reality for everyone. We get to decide what we consider priceless, and from there, we build our lives.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hailey Tagliarino, Assistant Managing Editor

As Assistant Managing Editor for The Everygirl, Hailey Tagliarino oversees, writes, and edits content across various categories on the site. From the pitching stage through publishing, she works alongside the team to ensure that the content that our readers see every day is inspiring, relatable, and timely.

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