The Key to Getting a Salary Bump Next Year? Returning to the Office

Would you swap your comfy work-from-home pants for a commute and office attire if you'd get a pay bump?

That's the question more job hunters should be asking themselves, as a new report finds you may be able to negotiate a salary boost by offering to work a remote or hybrid job in person. Two-thirds of managers in the recently released salary guide from human resources firm Robert Half said they are “willing” to raise starting salaries for remote jobs if new hires are open to working in the office.

The findings aren't necessarily going to be music to the ears of all job seekers given that many Americans are still seeking out the flexibility of remote-work life. But that’s exactly why offering to go in person can give you a competitive edge in salary negotiations.

The potential pay bumps aren’t insignificant, either: 59% say they’ll offer employees up to a 20% salary increase to be onsite 4 to 5 days a week. (These results are based on a June survey of 2,500 hiring managers across several professional fields.)

Job applicants have to weigh the potential salary bump against the higher costs associated with in-office work. One survey from Owl Labs found that working at the office can come at a $5,000 per year premium versus remote work. That sum includes direct expenses such as driving-related costs like gas, vehicle depreciation, tolls, parking and transit fares, as well as other less obvious things like our tendencies to spend more on lunches out with coworkers and increased shopping budgets for work clothes.

Still, depending on your personal situation, a 20% or more salary increase could easily offset any additional costs you’d incur by going in — so it’s certainly something to consider.

Robert Half reports that being open to working in person is among its top tips in 2025 to increase your salary, along with other strategies like researching typical salary ranges for the position and adding professional certifications to your resume. “Be open to more in-office work, which allows for face-to-face interaction with colleagues and in-person training and upskilling,” the firm said in the release.

Workers are still resisting in-office work

The return-to-office debate is still raging on four and a half years after the pandemic began. The latest debacle is at Amazon, where the corporate office is facing backlash for the tech giant's mandate for in-office work.

In a letter last month about strengthening the company's "culture," CEO Andy Jassy told employees "our expectation is that people will be in the office outside of extenuating circumstances," except for those with approved exceptions.

Since then, employees have reportedly been “rage applying” roles at other companies and one survey found that 91% of workers were "dissatisfied" with the new policy.

On the other hand, some companies, like Spotify, are doubling down on their remote work policies, drawing a clear distinction between how they and their competitors are handling the issue. “You can’t spend a lot of time hiring grown-ups and then treat them like children,” Katarina Berg, Spotify’s chief human resources officer, told Raconteur.

These reactions underscore the strong feelings that workers and managers still have about the issue. With many managers' preferring to have workers onsite, but the majority of workers desiring remote or hybrid arrangements, it's no surprise that volunteering to go into the office can pay off — literally.

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