The COVID-19 pandemic has altered lives all around the world. In addition to its strong impact on health, it has also had a huge influence on how we work. Employees and their supervisors have had a chance to discover that physical presence in the office is not necessary in order to maintain a flourishing business. Furthermore, the reduced number of people who commute as well as a visible reduction in carpooling have once and for all changed commuting patterns and general work arrangements.
Commuting and health
Although for years daily commutes were treated as a rather safe part of our lives, the outbreak of the pandemic changed the way we all think about going to work. Depending on travel mode, commuting can present a different set of risks, which are linked to our health.
People who go to work by public transport are more likely to get sick. The longer the commutes are, the more vulnerable they get, as longer travel times involve much time spent in a poorly ventilated and confined space shared with others who may be sick. What is more, the cutbacks in public transport which were seen in most big cities around the world have led to several types of nuisances experienced by employees, which may directly influence their mental health, well-being and satisfaction from work.
The pervasive inconveniences related to using public transport forced people to search for other ways to reach their offices. Many commuters who live in proximity to their work locations gave up buses, subways and other means of transport in favour of bikes and walking, which is a very positive change. Regular walking or riding a bike can bring several health benefits, e.g., it can affect weight loss or increases fitness. Some commuters also chose to go to work by private cars. Although from the perspective of a commuter, this is one of the best, quickest and easiest ways to reach the office, it is certainly not the best in terms of economy and ecology.
The future of commuting
The pandemic is still in its development phase, and it poses numerous uncertainties about the future. We may expect that the commuting patterns we know from the past will not return in the upcoming years, if ever. Ongoing shifts and changes in work organization, the introduction of new intelligent systems, new means of communication that promote remote work as well as health concerns that employees have are now deeply rooted in their mindset and won’t just disappear. This is why employers should do their best to provide staff with safe working conditions, as this is a guarantee of employees’ well-being.
A new era of commutes
The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that flexibility in offices is necessary. Companies should be able to always adapt to the changing needs of employees and forced shifts, which can’t be controlled. What today’s employees need and demand is surely greater flexibility and healthy working conditions.
Here are some popular ways in which employers can make commuting easier:
- Offering incentives for commuting by bike or on foot
- Offering corporate shuttles for people who work in the same office
- Offering carpooling with easy contact tracing
- Offering parking space booking systems for easy and hassle-free parking space reservation
All in all, the trends in commuting to work have changed significantly over the past three years. If you want your office to be up-to-date and give your employees something which is still a novelty in the labour market, consider introducing a parking space management app. They will surely appreciate it. Click here to learn more about it.
If you’d like to introduce Parkalot – our car park management app – in your company, please contact us at contact-us@parkalot.io or book an onboarding call.Start using Parkalot in an hour. Allow your colleagues to commute by car, and park on the parking spaces assigned to those who are working from home.