Dive Brief:
- An employee was approved to spend $1,895 for a Peloton bike as a work-from-home expense, a compilation of this year's craziest pandemic-related business expenses from Emburse found.
- Another employee was reimbursed $79 for a crate to keep the employee's dog from disrupting company Zoom meetings.
- An employee tried to get a $7,600 facelift approved under the company's "repairs and maintenance" category but was denied.
Dive Insight:
"Many modern office environments have perks such as a stacked fridge or snacks on demand, and many employees were sad to leave these frills behind," the company said in its compilation. "However, employers had mixed feelings about reimbursing some of the other expenses that employees submitted to help replicate the office life."
Examples of approved reimbursement requests:
- $39 for plants, because "they missed plants in the office," the employee's manager said.
- $100 a month for magazine subscriptions to offset "the lack of dialogue" as a stimulus.
- $1,250 for branded coffee mugs "to boost team morale" during virtual meetings.
- $20,000 for a private jet charter to limit virus exposure on travel.
Unapproved requests:
- $2,500 for a helicopter ride under "transportation."
- $339 for live lobsters for a work-related meeting.
- $52.90 for a sports bra under "health and wellness."
- $389 for wine for "online networking events."
