The Cost of Remote Working Happiness Around The World

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Capital on Tap USA 15 November 2021 minute read

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The COVID-19 pandemic has forced companies across the globe into remote working, and it looks to be staying this way for the foreseeable future. Despite this radical shift to remote working, a survey by Nuffield Health found that 80% feel that working from home has negatively impacted their mental health. It’s now clear that the cost of office space should no longer be a priority for most businesses who are looking to use their resources to improve working from home conditions for employees.

A new study by Capital on Tap reveals the most cost-effective cities and countries where businesses can maintain the happiest working from home staff. We’ve analysed the costs businesses can look to subsidise for employees who have adopted permanent working from home policies in a bid to avoid burnout beyond the pandemic. To do this we analysed a variety of cost and lifestyle factors that cater to remote working satisfaction such as the cost of living, food, eating out, transport, rent, bills, wifi, salary and more!

Top 25 Cities For Remote Working Disposable Income

Yearly Costs
Rank	City	Average Salary	Rent	Bills	WiFi	Drinks	Eating Out	Food	Transport	Gym	Cost of Remote Worker Happiness	Disposable Income
1	Geneva	£56,041	£13,427	£2,004	£589	£490	£500	£905	£800	£859	£19,573	£36,468
2	Copenhagen	£33,172	£8,896	£1,901	£363	£413	£435	£726	£582	£357	£13,674	£19,499
3	Washington DC	£32,448	£11,302	£1,471	£598	£339	£252	£824	£660	£345	£15,791	£16,657
4	Canberra	£31,036	£9,852	£1,455	£483	£360	£294	£643	£996	£438	£14,521	£16,516
5	Oslo	£29,745	£9,355	£1,674	£496	£603	£402	£762	£754	£421	£14,469	£15,276
6	Helsinki	£25,993	£7,320	£1,057	£263	£454	£378	£573	£626	£424	£11,094	£14,899
7	Stockholm	£26,001	£7,680	£761	£308	£453	£368	£658	£893	£368	£11,489	£14,513
8	Berlin	£25,291	£7,073	£2,363	£346	£243	£270	£531	£772	£325	£11,923	£13,369
9	Seoul	£21,250	£4,473	£1,332	£214	£276	£154	£1,014	£423	£487	£8,374	£12,876
10	Tokyo	£24,127	£6,303	£1,888	£417	£303	£216	£1,056	£865	£776	£11,824	£12,303
11	Paris	£22,100	£6,564	£1,559	£299	£400	£270	£643	£614	£391	£10,741	£11,359
12	Amsterdam	£26,537	£10,635	£1,795	£424	£308	£324	£537	£918	£326	£15,266	£11,272
13	Wellington	£24,121	£8,772	£1,076	£506	£364	£273	£579	£953	£359	£12,882	£11,239
14	Reykjavík	£26,582	£11,113	£902	£583	£574	£473	£671	£864	£496	£15,676	£10,905
15	Singapore	£31,468	£16,367	£1,009	£291	£534	£233	£627	£800	£910	£20,773	£10,695
16	Brussels	£21,809	£7,281	£1,530	£497	£292	£324	£563	£529	£287	£11,303	£10,507
17	London	£33,914	£17,796	£2,051	£384	£211	£360	£1,719	£728	£505	£23,755	£10,159
18	Vienna	£21,614	£7,105	£2,070	£346	£286	£270	£580	£535	£369	£11,561	£10,053
19	Ottawa	£21,737	£8,311	£1,081	£523	£309	£240	£621	£665	£343	£12,093	£9,645
20	Abu Dhabi	£23,930	£9,770	£1,491	£914	£637	£250	£483	£599	£680	£14,825	£9,106
21	Dublin	£24,697	£12,294	£1,575	£547	£378	£324	£559	£1,296	£468	£17,440	£7,258
22	Rome	£15,543	£5,890	£1,698	£313	£324	£270	£460	£378	£526	£9,859	£5,684
23	Barcelona	£14,511	£6,473	£1,274	£438	£189	£216	£392	£432	£399	£9,813	£4,698
24	Hong Kong	£27,465	£17,937	£1,957	£231	£473	£266	£699	£584	£708	£22,856	£4,608
25	Tallinn	£12,374	£4,256	£1,868	£246	£302	£216	£395	£248	£461	£7,993	£4,381

Yearly Costs
Rank	City	Average Salary	Rent	Bills	WiFi	Drinks	Eating Out	Food	Transport	Gym	Cost of Remote Worker Happiness	Disposable Income
1	Geneva	£56,041	£13,427	£2,004	£589	£490	£500	£905	£800	£859	£19,573	£36,468
2	Copenhagen	£33,172	£8,896	£1,901	£363	£413	£435	£726	£582	£357	£13,674	£19,499
3	Washington DC	£32,448	£11,302	£1,471	£598	£339	£252	£824	£660	£345	£15,791	£16,657
4	Canberra	£31,036	£9,852	£1,455	£483	£360	£294	£643	£996	£438	£14,521	£16,516
5	Oslo	£29,745	£9,355	£1,674	£496	£603	£402	£762	£754	£421	£14,469	£15,276
6	Helsinki	£25,993	£7,320	£1,057	£263	£454	£378	£573	£626	£424	£11,094	£14,899
7	Stockholm	£26,001	£7,680	£761	£308	£453	£368	£658	£893	£368	£11,489	£14,513
8	Berlin	£25,291	£7,073	£2,363	£346	£243	£270	£531	£772	£325	£11,923	£13,369
9	Seoul	£21,250	£4,473	£1,332	£214	£276	£154	£1,014	£423	£487	£8,374	£12,876
10	Tokyo	£24,127	£6,303	£1,888	£417	£303	£216	£1,056	£865	£776	£11,824	£12,303
11	Paris	£22,100	£6,564	£1,559	£299	£400	£270	£643	£614	£391	£10,741	£11,359
12	Amsterdam	£26,537	£10,635	£1,795	£424	£308	£324	£537	£918	£326	£15,266	£11,272
13	Wellington	£24,121	£8,772	£1,076	£506	£364	£273	£579	£953	£359	£12,882	£11,239
14	Reykjavík	£26,582	£11,113	£902	£583	£574	£473	£671	£864	£496	£15,676	£10,905
15	Singapore	£31,468	£16,367	£1,009	£291	£534	£233	£627	£800	£910	£20,773	£10,695
16	Brussels	£21,809	£7,281	£1,530	£497	£292	£324	£563	£529	£287	£11,303	£10,507
17	London	£33,914	£17,796	£2,051	£384	£211	£360	£1,719	£728	£505	£23,755	£10,159
18	Vienna	£21,614	£7,105	£2,070	£346	£286	£270	£580	£535	£369	£11,561	£10,053
19	Ottawa	£21,737	£8,311	£1,081	£523	£309	£240	£621	£665	£343	£12,093	£9,645
20	Abu Dhabi	£23,930	£9,770	£1,491	£914	£637	£250	£483	£599	£680	£14,825	£9,106
21	Dublin	£24,697	£12,294	£1,575	£547	£378	£324	£559	£1,296	£468	£17,440	£7,258
22	Rome	£15,543	£5,890	£1,698	£313	£324	£270	£460	£378	£526	£9,859	£5,684
23	Barcelona	£14,511	£6,473	£1,274	£438	£189	£216	£392	£432	£399	£9,813	£4,698
24	Hong Kong	£27,465	£17,937	£1,957	£231	£473	£266	£699	£584	£708	£22,856	£4,608
25	Tallinn	£12,374	£4,256	£1,868	£246	£302	£216	£395	£248	£461	£7,993	£4,381

Geneva, Switzerland Is Ranked as the Best Location for Remote Working Disposable Income

Geneva has been revealed as the top city for remote worker happiness in terms of disposable income after paying remote working living costs and affording a good quality of life. With an extremely attractive average salary of £56,041, it costs a whopping total of £19,573 a year per employee to ensure remote worker happiness in the city - this includes a yearly gym membership at £859, bills at £2,004 and rent at £13,427 a year! However, despite its hefty costs, employees within the city's average salary bracket will have a massive disposable income at £36,468 a year to play with or put into savings!

Copenhagen, Washington and Canberra follow after Geneva as the top locations for remote working disposable income. These cities all offer extremely high saving opportunities with disposable incomes reaching £19,000 a year!

Top 10 Cities For Remote Working Disposable Income

Rank	City	Average Salary	Rent	Bills	WiFi	Drinks	Eating Out	Food	Transport	Gym	Cost of Remote Worker Happiness	Disposable Income
1	Geneva	£56,041	£13,427	£2,004	£589	£490	£500	£905	£800	£859	£19,573	£36,468
2	Copenhagen	£33,172	£8,896	£1,901	£363	£413	£435	£726	£582	£357	£13,674	£19,499
3	Washington DC	£32,448	£11,302	£1,471	£598	£339	£252	£824	£660	£345	£15,791	£16,657
4	Canberra	£31,036	£9,852	£1,455	£483	£360	£294	£643	£996	£438	£14,521	£16,516
5	Oslo	£29,745	£9,355	£1,674	£496	£603	£402	£762	£754	£421	£14,469	£15,276
6	Helsinki	£25,993	£7,320	£1,057	£263	£454	£378	£573	£626	£424	£11,094	£14,899
7	Stockholm	£26,001	£7,680	£761	£308	£453	£368	£658	£893	£368	£11,489	£14,513
8	Berlin	£25,291	£7,073	£2,363	£346	£243	£270	£531	£772	£325	£11,923	£13,369
9	Seoul	£21,250	£4,473	£1,332	£214	£276	£154	£1,014	£423	£487	£8,374	£12,876
10	Tokyo	£24,127	£6,303	£1,888	£417	£303	£216	£1,056	£865	£776	£11,824	£12,303

New Delhi, India Is the Cheapest City for Remote Working Happiness

New Delhi has been revealed as the cheapest city for remote worker happiness costing employees just £2,349 a year. A one-bedroom flat in the city costs just £1,223 per year, with bills at £347, WiFi at £100 and groceries at just £207 - making it the most economical option for employers looking to subsidize the costs of remote working.

Cairo, Colombo and Buenos Airies are the next cheapest options for remote working employees all costing less than £3,500 per year in living costs. Mexico has the cheapest options in terms of bills costing just £308 per year, while Brazil is a great option for companies looking to promote health and well being, with a fitness club membership costing approximately £117 per year!

Top 10 Cheapest Cities For Remote Worker Happiness

Rank	City	Average Salary	Rent	Bills	WiFi	Drinks	Eating Out	Food	Transport	Gym	Cost of Remote Worker Happiness
1	New Delhi	£4,000	£1,223	£347	£100	£158	£49	£207	£92	£174	£2,350
2	Cairo	£2,007	£1,365	£269	£157	£173	£90	£184	£115	£240	£2,593
3	Colombo	£2,392	£1,949	£420	£169	£174	£62	£335	£50	£149	£3,306
4	Buenos Aires	£4,336	£1,862	£581	£231	£89	£95	£232	£127	£208	£3,425
5	Ankara	£3,938	£1,790	£627	£134	£164	£66	£241	£283	£212	£3,517
6	Brasilia	£3,171	£1,889	£547	£199	£112	£86	£216	£345	£177	£3,572
7	Mexico City	£4,145	£2,470	£308	£213	£121	£101	£280	£154	£245	£3,893
8	Kyiv	£3,179	£2,357	£863	£45	£75	£99	£222	£99	£158	£3,919
9	Rabat	£3,946	£2,334	£388	£316	£221	£98	£214	£147	£205	£3,923
10	Jakarta	£2,772	£2,161	£663	£280	£290	£62	£366	£125	£263	£4,210

London Is the Most Expensive City for Remote Working Happiness

London is the most expensive location for remote worker satisfaction with overall costs at £23,755 per employee a year. With a high living cost and an average salary of £33,914, remote workers are left with only £10,159 making it a pricier option for employers looking to compensate their working from home employees and improve their quality of life.

Hong Kong, Singapore and Geneva are the next most expensive options for employers looking to maintain a happier and healthier workforce. With expensive living costs above £19,573 a year and high taxes mean less disposable income for employees to put towards their mental health and wellbeing.

Top 10 Most Expensive Cities For Remote Worker Happiness

Rank	City	Average Salary	Rent	Bills	WiFi	Drinks	Eating Out	Food	Transport	Gym	Disposable Income	Cost of Remote Worker Happiness
1	London	£33,914	£17,796	£2,051	£384	£211	£360	£1,719	£728	£505	£10,159	£23,755
2	Hong Kong	£27,465	£17,937	£1,957	£231	£473	£266	£699	£584	£708	£4,608	£22,856
3	Singapore	£31,468	£16,367	£1,009	£291	£534	£233	£627	£800	£910	£10,695	£20,773
4	Geneva	£56,041	£13,427	£2,004	£589	£490	£500	£905	£800	£859	£36,468	£19,573
5	Dublin	£24,697	£12,294	£1,575	£547	£378	£324	£559	£1,296	£468	£7,258	£17,440
6	Washington DC	£32,448	£11,302	£1,471	£598	£339	£252	£824	£660	£345	£16,657	£15,791
7	Reykjavík	£26,582	£11,113	£902	£583	£574	£473	£671	£864	£496	£10,905	£15,676
8	Amsterdam	£26,537	£10,635	£1,795	£424	£308	£324	£537	£918	£326	£11,272	£15,266
9	Abu Dhabi	£23,930	£9,770	£1,491	£914	£637	£250	£483	£599	£680	£9,106	£14,825
10	Canberra	£31,036	£9,852	£1,455	£483	£360	£294	£643	£996	£438	£16,516	£14,521

Sources and Methodology

In order to calculate the best and cheapest locations for remote worker satisfaction, we used data from numbeo looking at the cost of living and working in 60 cities to determine the best cities. Disposable income was determined by taking away the cost of remote worker happiness to the average salary in that city.

https://www.numbeo.com/property-investment/rankings_by_country.jsp

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/

https://www.acas.org.uk/working-from-home

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