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For remote and hybrid workers, the approaching return to full-time in-person work will cost hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars per year

For federal employees who face higher-than-average transportation and caregiving expenses, the cost of returning to the office could amount to thousands of dollars. Photo: Getty Images

Working for the government just got more expensive.

Federal employees subject to a return-to-office mandate issued by the Trump White House on Monday are grappling with coming increases in their annual spending — by anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars — for transportation, food, apparel and child care that had previously been reduced by working remotely.

Venessa Wong is a personal finance reporter for MarketWatch based in New York City. She previously covered business, inequality and culture during her tenure at BuzzFeed News, and reported on the food industry for Bloomberg. Venessa is a graduate of the Columbia Journalism School and Middlebury College. Follow her on Twitter @venessawong.