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Impact of the business commute on employee wellbeing

Earlier this year I was involved in producing the ICARUS report ‘Frequent traveller well-being: its impact on the individual and the organisation’. The research undertaken was intended to strengthen anecdotal evidence about the impact of frequent business travel on individuals and organisations. The findings showed the impact to be far reaching – affecting work life balance, psychological well-being and physical health. Some of the key issues were interference with other responsibilities, long, unsocial hours and the stress of actually making the journey.

While the ICARUS research was concerned with longer business trips, there are also crossovers with how people are affected by their daily commute. In fact in some ways, this every day journey may be more troublesome than other forms of business travel. We know from research that stress is at its most damaging when it is ‘chronic’ – i.e. it continues over a long period without respite – a feature which categorises the commute for most workers.

There are various reasons why the daily commute may be stressful for some people: pressure to be home at a set time, possibly to fit in with childcare arrangements; having to be at work for a specific time (obviously in some jobs this is part of the role – e.g. opening a retail outlet for business at a set time); working irregular hours when public transport is limited or not available and simply having to share your journey with others who may cause delay are all potential sources of stress. The overall length of the journey could be the main challenge – something that will prove particularly frustrating if the situation has arisen outside the traveller’s control, for example the business has moved from its original location.

Although an organisation is not obliged to accommodate for employees’ commutes, there are things that can be done to make employees’ lives easier. This is likely to translate into increased levels of well-being and therefore positive business outcomes.

The most obvious way to ease the strain of the commute is to allow employees to skip it all together by working from home when appropriate – or, if available, an office that’s nearer to their home.
If it’s possible don’t be too rigid about people’s starting and finishing times. Is it really necessary for people to be in the office from 9.00 – 5.30? This will reduce the pressure if people are running late and make the journey easier if it allows employees to avoid peak time travel. This also accommodates different working preferences – both early risers and those who don’t get going until a little later in the day! If the individual is allowed to choose to work when they’re at their best, you’re likely to find they’re more productive.
Give people flexibility in taking a little time off to deal with personal matters when they need to. Freedom to pop home for a couple of hours to accept a delivery – rather than having to take a day off or organise it outside working hours (which then puts pressure on getting home at a certain time) – will be well received.
Provide changing facilities and showers for people who are able to walk or run to work.

A more rigid approach adopted by some organisations is to require people to live within a certain distance of their main place of work. This is intended to ‘save people from themselves’ and prevents long distance commuting from building up. I’m not sure I agree with a fixed rule as what might work for one person may not be right for another. However when recruiting it is probably a good idea to ensure the candidate has considered all the implications of a long commute (including cost!).

Obviously the individual also has to take responsibility for his/her arrangements. Ultimately the commute occurs outside work time – unlike trips taken specifically to carry out business – so the organisation can reasonably expect their employees to make appropriate decisions.

One of the ways people can improve things is by reviewing the mode of transport they use. Each form has its pros and cons: cars require more concentration – but they provide a little more control; trains offer less control – but at least in theory it should be easier to relax; bikes and motorbikes are more dangerous and require concentration – although push bikes at least improve physical fitness. The best way is walking or running – although, for many, the distance from work makes this impossible. Some people will be forced into a particular method by circumstance, but for those who do have a choice it’s worth fully considering the options.

Another way to make things is easier is by trying to ensure that your commute counts as down time. Make it as relaxing and enjoyable as possible – don’t set time deadlines and if you have to, then allow yourself more than enough time to make the journey. It also helps to do something that you enjoy while travelling – reading, listening to music or even just watching the scenery. From a psychological well-being point of view, the main benefit of being away from work is that it provides “respite” – a break from work and recovery time – make sure your commute falls in to this category.

It can be tempting for all of us to use the commuting time to work, either catching up or getting ahead. But do you really need to be doing this or are you just putting increased pressure on yourself? For some people it can help as they use the travelling time to get useful work done – and can therefore leave work earlier. But be wary of building this in to your schedule on top of a full day – you’re almost certainly doing too much.

Finally, if a long term commute is really getting you down – affecting work performance and your behaviour when you get home – then it might be worth seriously considering either moving job or moving house. Easier said than done perhaps, I know, but if the outcomes included more time with friends and family, less stress, improved health and psychological well-being then it could well be worth it.

Author: Professor Ivan Robertson is a Director and founder of leading Business Psychology company Robertson Cooper.