This is highly situational. Full time office would cost me $2500 in public transport. Rent difference to 2 bedroom is $15k pa here. The increased amenity of the extra room is totally worth it, but not everyone has the means to pay up to 10k a year extra in rent.
Good point. As you move towards expensive urban centers the advantage will tend to decrease as space becomes more expensive and transit improves.
That said I've lived with 2 people in a shoe box of a studio and still enjoyed working from home from it although I did have customers from time to time commenting on what was on the news across the way or my cat. I understand that the equation is different for others but I'm definitely firmly committed to this lifestyle.
I mean, transportation is pre-tax, so not really $2500.
There's also no such thing as a free lunch. If your employer is buying you an office, then that comes right out of your take-home pay. Or, you're underpaid. Ultimately you provide $X value to the business, your salary and rent for an office don't increase the value, so they directly compete with each other. That's why open offices are so popular, people only compare offers with the $ that they take home. So, they don't put anything else into the other buckets. (I watched Google gradually remove all the perks in order to give people higher total comp. Part of it was taxing snacks and health insurance like income, but part of it was people leaving for the other FAANGs that had less benefits but paid more. The market decided they didn't want private offices at work.)
