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"They're probably laughing as they've managed to shift a major cost onto their employees without the plebs realising it"

I'd still have an office at home regardless. I might use a bit more toilet paper and have to provide my own coffee/tea, but I don't have to maintain a business wardrobe or put miles on my car going to work and back. The trade can be worth it. I work in hardware so it might be nice to have a small lab/shop to use from time to time, but I often have better tools at home. At least they are tools I am more familiar with. The time spent on design and documentation is often much more than fabrication which means far fewer days when being in the office/shop is necessary. I can also do a bunch of the work at home as I said. I'm not going to be using that much more electricity that the balance shifts away from my favor. If that did turn out to be the case, I would ask for reimbursement or extra pay. If my job was making parts full time, it wouldn't work out but a small local shop would be better than an all-encompassing facility.