Mobile workers spared stress of commuting
Two-fifths of Thai workers are now free from the shackles of their desks, according to a survey.
This is especially true when the win-win benefits of slashing commutes are analysed," Filippo Sarti, CEO for Asia at Regus, the world's largest provider of flexible workspaces, said yesterday.
These professionals are free to work from outside locations for half a week or more, helping them to reduce commute time and giving them the freedom to choose work locations closer to home.
Businesses have increasingly been offering flexible working practices as morale and health benefits become common knowledge, but this study confirms that about 60 per cent of employees would also work harder, benefiting the company, if they could reduce their commute.
By cutting their commute, professionals could spend more time exercising and getting fitter, being with partner and family and performing charity work.
If businesses extend flexible working practices for their staff, not only would employee health, morale and loyalty improve, but also overall productivity, as staff would work more.
Globally, 72 per cent of companies had experienced increased productivity directly as a result of flexible working practices.
Global commuters have identified the “seven deadly sins of commuting” that cause them the most stress on the way to work and undermine their productivity and job satisfaction. The average commute time is 40 minutes, yet the time taken to commute is less of an issue than the commuting experience. No business wants employees turning up to work already exhausted and stressed out, unable to function properly in the working day.
The Seven Deadly Sins of Commuting:
lBad/dangerous drivers
lDelays/service interruptions
lRoad rage
lPollution/overheating
lPeople talking too loudly on their mobile phones
lLack of information from service providers
lRude behaviour from other passengers
“Confirming previous Regus research linking happier and healthier workers to greater productivity, over half of professionals say they would devote at least some of the time saved on gruelling commutes to working more.
“So the benefits of flexible working are twofold. On the one hand, workers are more relaxed and healthy, and on the other they are also more productive, benefiting the business too,” Sarti said.
Regus canvassed over 16,000 professionals in more than 80 countries for the survey.
