2 in 5 staff see their daily commute as 'pointless'

With the cost of travelling to work getting more expensive and travel time getting longer, it is not surprising that business people globally regard their daily trip to and from the office as a drain on productivity.

According to the latest research from Regus, this 'limbo' of time that is mainly seen as neither productive work time, nor enjoyable personal time, is widely regarded as an obstacle to more useful or entertaining pursuits.

Of the almost 40,000 respondents polled, 37 per cent felt that the daily commute is a major productivity drain.

Additionally slightly more than four in 10 (44 per cent) felt that the time spent travelling to and from the office is a pointless, undefined time, while 13 per cent positively hate their commute and brand it as a 'waste' of their precious time.

"This means that for well over half of business people globally commute time could be re-invested in more productive work time or in enjoying a few hours more sleep in the morning," the research noted.

The findings showed that only a minority of business people globally (15 per cent) regarded commuting as profitable work time - possibly due to the fact that they spend this time checking emails and reading important documents.

On the other hand, a small handful (29 per cent) regarded their commute as personal time, "perhaps as they are able to read and catch up on the latest news on their smartphone," the research noted.

Paul MacAndrew, country manager for Singapore at Regus, commenteed: "As commute times continue to get longer and longer, it is devastating to find that the vast majority of workers regard their daily travel into work and back home as a complete drain on their work day productivity and that they are equally unable to devote it to personal or leisure activities.

"Business people globally are expected to always be available and connected, but in reality there is a much bigger and subtler drain on their productivity than not having a smartphone on hand, and that is the daily commute.

"Savvy businesses wanting to restore productivity and reward workers with more personal time or simply with a lie-in every once in a while, would do well to allow employees to work closer to home at least some of the time."

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