Health/Wellness
GTA study: The closer to home the betterCommute drives workers madGeorge Horhota may be biased, but he believes a recently concluded study on commuter behaviour proves his point. MIKE KOREEN |
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 [ 2007-02-01 ] |
The executive v-p of Suite-Works Inc., a company that offers office space closer to commuters' homes, said the results of the GTA Commuter Behaviour study show that the world becomes a better place when employees can do their work without making a long drive to the workplace.
The three Es -- employees, employers and the environment -- all benefit when workers work at home or close to home, Horhota said yesterday after a news conference detailing the results of the study, which was funded by Transport Canada, Living Green and SuiteWorks.
"There are solutions that have to do with technology," Horhota said. "Technology created the problem, the car. Technology is part of the solution and that is providing tools to people who can work when and where they work best."
The study surveyed 231 people who commute down the 400 into Toronto for at least one hour each way.
MIGHT QUIT JOB
Two-thirds of the respondents admitted they had thought about quitting to work closer to home and 60% said they would consider telecommuting -- working from home on a computer.
The average Canadian employee spends 275 hours a year commuting.
Conversely, major employers can save money by having employees out of the office.
"On a typical work day (in a major urban centre), 50% of the office space is empty," Horhota said. "Real estate is the second biggest expense for (companies) after people."
If companies adopt Horhota's theory, Greenhouse Gas emissions could be reduced considerably. In the study, 72% of the respondents said they do think about environmental damage.
Horhota said IBM has made 25% of its workforce mobile and Bell is attempting to have a similar set-up. This concept is more prevalent in the U.S.
"The efforts in Canada have been very, very, very small compared to the U.S.," Suite-Works president John Cameron said.
In Washington, 17 telework offices have been set up close to the homes of federal government employees.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
A recent study examining the thoughts of 231 GTA commuters found the following:
- 75% dislike commuting
- 80% recognize commuting has a negative effect on work-life balance
- 20% feel they do nothing but work
- 75% feel they have no alternatives or their career would stall if they did not commute
- 6% had commuted more than an hour each way for entire career
- 23% carpool to work
- 49% commute because they can't find a job closer to home that meets their expectations
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