N15-1: Remote vs Office: Total Cost Analysis
The real math on remote work economics — not the headline, the balance sheet.
🎯 What You'll Learn
- ✓ Calculate office TCO
- ✓ Model remote infrastructure costs
- ✓ Compare net savings
- ✓ Present the business case
Lesson 1: Office TCO Decomposition
Office costs extend far beyond rent. Total office cost per employee = Lease cost per sqft × sqft per employee + Utilities + Insurance + Furniture/equipment + IT infrastructure + Reception/facilities staff + Cleaning + Commute subsidies + Office snacks/perks. In a major tech hub, this totals $15-25K per employee per year.
Average: 150-200 sqft per employee × $40-80/sqft/year in tech hubs.
Network, AV, HVAC, security systems.
Commute subsidies, parking, catering, office management staff.
Calculate your organization's full office TCO per employee. Include every line item. Compare to industry benchmarks.
Lesson 2: Remote Infrastructure Costs
Remote isn't free. Real remote costs = Home office stipend ($1-2K setup, $100-200/mo ongoing) + Cloud collaboration tools ($200-400/employee/month) + VPN and security ($50-100/employee/month) + Quarterly team gatherings ($2-5K/employee/year) + Increased management overhead (15-20% more manager time).
Desk, chair, monitor, keyboard, webcam, headset.
Slack, Zoom, Notion, GitHub, cloud IDE environments.
Quarterly offsites keep remote teams connected.
Calculate your remote infrastructure cost per employee. Is it actually cheaper than office? By how much?
Lesson 3: The Net Savings Business Case
Build the comparison: Office TCO per employee minus Remote TCO per employee = Net savings per employee × headcount = Annual savings. Typical result: $5-12K/employee/year in net savings for remote. But factor in productivity (remote workers report 13% higher productivity in 2026 studies) and the savings multiply.
Real estate, utilities, and facilities costs eliminated.
Direct savings minus remote infrastructure investment.
Remote workers gain back 40-80 minutes of commute time daily.
Build the net savings business case for your organization. Include direct savings, remote costs, and productivity adjustments.
Continue Learning: Track 15 — Remote & Distributed Teams
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Module Syllabus
Lesson 1: Lesson 1: Office TCO Decomposition
Office costs extend far beyond rent. Total office cost per employee = Lease cost per sqft × sqft per employee + Utilities + Insurance + Furniture/equipment + IT infrastructure + Reception/facilities staff + Cleaning + Commute subsidies + Office snacks/perks. In a major tech hub, this totals $15-25K per employee per year.
Lesson 2: Lesson 2: Remote Infrastructure Costs
Remote isn't free. Real remote costs = Home office stipend ($1-2K setup, $100-200/mo ongoing) + Cloud collaboration tools ($200-400/employee/month) + VPN and security ($50-100/employee/month) + Quarterly team gatherings ($2-5K/employee/year) + Increased management overhead (15-20% more manager time).
Lesson 3: Lesson 3: The Net Savings Business Case
Build the comparison: Office TCO per employee minus Remote TCO per employee = Net savings per employee × headcount = Annual savings. Typical result: $5-12K/employee/year in net savings for remote. But factor in productivity (remote workers report 13% higher productivity in 2026 studies) and the savings multiply.