Employees Frustrated With Long Commutes

July 23, 2008

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Rising fuel prices and worsening traffic are driving 26 percent of employees to consider changing jobs to improve their commutes, reports a study conducted by BusinessWeek Research Services and commissioned by TransitCenter.

The survey, entitled, “The Impact of Commuting on Employees,” finds that 48 percent of employees say their commute is getting worse. The increased frustration is building a bigger appetite for commute-focused relief in the workforce. Indeed, 65 percent of employees say they expect their companies to step up and take the lead in easing their commuting difficulties.

The study surveyed over 1,000 respondents in the U.S. in 2007, and found that 26 percent considered changing jobs to improve their commutes.

Almost a quarter of respondents said they are late to work at least three times a month due to traffic.

Geography is also affecting the level of willingness to change jobs. The survey found that nearly one in three people who live in the suburbs and commute to work in the city, would consider taking another job to improve their commute. Almost half of respondents who live in the city and reverse-commute, would also consider a new job for a better commute.

Companies worried about retaining commute-exhausted employees should perhaps take a tip from a Juniper commute program.

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Reader Comments

Correct me if I am wrong, but hasn’t it been part of the American dream to own a McMansion and be able to drive 1.5 hours as part of that process? How many articles out there highlighted these stories when gas was 50USD a barrel as something to be proud of, and why is this something that companies should solve? Their employees are adults who made a choice (for right or wrong) to move an hour out of town, and now that the conditions are not in their favor (not like you needed a lot of insight to see the end was near) they are looking for someone else to solve their problems.

interesting.

Crossroads | July 24th, 2008