Steal This Idea: Boost Office Attendance with Daily Stipends

Robin, the workplace management platform, gives its employees a $50 stipend for each day that they work from the office, for up to eight days (or $400) each month.

Last year, the company scrapped its old program that subsidized monthly commuter passes and decided on a stipend of $50 per day, which it estimated to be roughly in line with what the average person spends on lunch, commuting, and other expenses such as parking or pet care.

Robin, which aims to have its employees in the office two days a week, saw a 40% increase in workers going to the office weekly after introducing the stipends. 

The company’s leadership knew from surveys that commute time and commute expenses are two top reasons why hybrid workers don’t want to come in to offices. They also acknowledged that it was inequitable that some employees living beyond a reasonable commuting distance didn’t face the same expectations to come in to the office.

With the $50 stipends, “at least it levels the playing field and says, ‘I'm going to pay for the incremental costs that you have of coming in to the office,’” said Robin CEO Micah Remley during a Charter webinar on Monday. “And it works great.”

Watch the webinar on “Measuring the Impact of In-Person Interactions” with Remley and Robin’s senior director of product management, Dana Luther.