As someone who has worked at home for many years, and has a nice home office setup. $1k is not nearly enough... you need monitors, a decent desk, a nice chair, office supplies, a printer/scanner, the list goes on and on.
I think you will find that most of the people this $1k is targeting is people who already have the means to work from home, but maybe need some additional things.
No mic/webcam for meetings. Maybe own a laptop but don't have a desk/chair.
The 1k isn't about funding a fancy setup to permanently work from home. It's about filling the gaps so that they can work from home as effectively as possible during this time.
Comfortable employees are more productive employees. Here in Washington, this time will be at least 6 weeks(schools closed for 6 weeks). Thats a long time to sit hunched in an uncomfortable position. Id rather spend the extra cash on a nice chair/desk/monitor setup that will last a decade, then pinch pennies to save a few bucks now and then drop that dough at the chiropractor later.
But i guess the opinion of having a comfortable setup is unpopular here, since i got downvoted. lol.
The article says that the $1k is for all 5000 of their employees. I doubt all of them have a laptop that they take home and most laptops already include a decent microphone and camera. The budget definitely does not target buying a laptop or desktop computer. It has to be for accessories like a chair, desk, scanner+printer.
I have done over 10 years and I use chair, monitor, desk, keyboard, mouse, coffee. That's it. Printer or scanner I have never needed. The total is probably $1k or just under.
I'm assuming of course that the $1k is for the office itself not for any other tech - i.e. that the employees have a laptop.
I have the Ikea hand-cranked version of a stand up desk, and a normal Ikea office chair. Those are by far the biggest expenses but I think they were under $500 together. A good screen is $250-$600 (I got a g-sync one because this is also my gaming space and my gaming rig feeds the same monitor). Unpopular opinion: more than one big external screen is a waste.
My office supplies are a good pen and a stack of printer paper I grab from the office when I'm there. I have never seen the need for a printer or scanner or any other office supplies.
I'd say $1k isn't exactly luxurious, but if we agree that anyone can do fine with ikea furniture and one external monitor then it's just right.
Yes, I agree on the last part. Thats why my OP stated a "nice setup". I think people should be comfortable when they work. Otherwise they will find reasons to not work, specially when un(der)supervised. Thus I think people should have higher quality monitors, decent chairs, adjustable height desks etc. I work fully remote, so a printer/scanner is a must, as i have no office to go to. I just look around my office and see lots of expenses... keyboard + mouse was $200.
No mic/webcam for meetings. Maybe own a laptop but don't have a desk/chair.
The 1k isn't about funding a fancy setup to permanently work from home. It's about filling the gaps so that they can work from home as effectively as possible during this time.