A Year of COVID-19: The Financial Impact of Working From Home
Americans are slowly returning to their offices, many for the first time in sixteen months. On the heels of this, doxo has released new survey data on the financial impact of working from home. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Americans were without access to employer facilities for over a year. doxoINSIGHTS’ report shows that consumers shouldered a large bill pay burden to account for long hours of remote work. The categories most impacted by remote work – Utilities, Cable & Internet, and Mobile – were therefore the most likely to have shown an increase since March of 2020.
“While remote work due to Covid may have saved Americans on their commuting costs, it inversely affected household bills tied to the services we all used as a result of being home more – namely, utilities, mobile phone and internet,” said Jim Kreyenhagen, VP of Marketing and Consumer Services at doxo.
This report comes after last month’s release of doxoINSIGHTS’ first report on the financial impact of the pandemic. Read that report here: A Year of COVID-19: Changes in Consumer Spending and Saving Habits.
Key findings from the latest report, “Household Bills and Financial Health After a Year of COVID-19,” include the facts below.
Utilities, Cable and Internet, and Mobile Phone saw the greatest impact of working from home
- Almost half of respondents (45%) experienced an increase in spending in at least one household bill over the past year
- The bills that increased were those categories that required more usage due to remote work brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
- 77% saw an increase in Utilities
- 32% saw an increase in Cable & Internet
- 17% saw an increase in Mobile Phone
Bill increases occurred due to higher usage
Higher usage accounted for increases in these categories, combined with a substantial percentage of individuals who incurred fees because they delayed at least one payment.
- 70% of Utility bill increases were due to more usage; 12% were due to missed payments
- 49% of Cable & Internet bill increases were due to more usage; 17% were due to missed payments
- 51% of Mobile bill increases were due to more usage; 19% were due to missed payments
One Year Post-Covid: Household Bills & Financial Health
A comprehensive look into the top bill categories impacted one year post covid – Utilities, Cable & Internet, and Mobile – were therefore the most likely to have shown an increase since March of 2020.