To an onlooker, the crowds of people pouring out of platforms and parking lots during rush hour on a weekday may seem to have a similar story.
But take a closer look: some wipe the sleep from their eyes, others hastily put away their makeup bag, and a few may unfurl a travel pillow around their neck.
These are the long-distance commuters, the ones who wake up in the dark and consider their car or train their second home.
And I love travel.
Unsurprisingly, during the pandemic, the average duration of commuting has decreased.
In 2019, one in ten workers made a journey of one hour, while only 3% made a journey of more than 90 minutes. But according to the United States Census Bureauthe number of people traveling for more than an hour fell to 7.7% in 2021, with average journeys down to 25.6 minutes from 27.6 minutes in 2019.
When COVID hit, some of the world’s largest companies promised to go remote – or hybrid – for good.
Some two million people away from major American cities between 2020 and 2022thinking that their travels would be less frequent when the world reopened.
However, about a year later, companies call back staffand compulsory travel has returned in force.
Still, ultra-commuting veterans say there are silver linings to be found, and they’re tired of the moan of newcomers.
“Commuting gives me an advantage”
Jonathan Walters has been on long commutes for most of his working life.
Before COVID, he traveled from Chicago to work in Naperville — a 45- to 75-minute drive, depending on traffic — and in 2021 he moved to a smaller city to be closer to his work. The only problem was that his job had changed and he found himself having to return to Chicago.
For for some people, this seemingly inevitable journey could be a scarecrow…but for the associate vice-president in a transport company, this has become welcome.
Walters said Fortune he calls his 5 a.m. departure “windshield time” – a chance to sort out his thoughts.
“When I arrive, I’ve had over an hour where I’m pretty focused, I’ve had time to prioritize my day and think about the first two or three things that will be on my list,” he said. -he explains. . “Especially when it comes to client or internal meetings, I can make sure they are more succinct because I have already had time to think and plan.”
Previously, Walters, like millions of others, viewed his commute as a “necessary evil.”
He decided to try to change his mindset view travel time as a positive thingsaying people should “enjoy it rather than complain about it.”
“Complaining about it won’t change anything,” he said. “Might as well make it something that, if not productive, is at least positive.”
Across the Atlantic, 25-year-old Melissa Howard’s day also starts at 5 a.m. Twice a week she travels from her home in rural Cambridgeshire, England, to the office, taking two trains to and through London.
At 8 a.m., the PR manager is at work – an hour before most of her industry colleagues go online – and she already has an action plan in place for her day: she says it gives her an “advantage”.
“I feel excited for the day, especially when I get there before everyone else,” Howard said. “It gives me an extra hour to settle in, I get more done without being distracted by anyone.”
Financial benefits
Howard’s commute costs him £180 (about $219) per week, although half the amount is covered by his employer.
She is one of the lucky few…most employees foot the bill a 31% increase in their travel costs compared to pre-COVID. The average American pays $8,466 a year for commuting, according to calculations from various government data from the real estate agent matching service. Smart Real Estate.
In the UK, it’s a similar story: the average person would spend around £17.23 ($21) commuting to work each day, although this amount increases when traveling to major centers like London, Manchester and Birmingham.
But even though Howard sometimes misses the convenience and social aspect of life in London, she has no plans to move to the metropolis.
“Comparing the prices versus the benefits, I just don’t think there’s enough of it,” Howard said. “It’s not just about the rent. It’s almost everything that goes with it: the food, the drink.
Likewise, while Walters’ travel costs him about $6,000 a year, he mentally offsets that with the “constant” pleasant surprise of how much more affordable life is in Naperville than in Chicago.
“For a bottle of wine, we pay a third, or two thirds, of what we would pay in Chicago, even at the same chain restaurant. Today’s city is free from everything: whether it’s parking, tolls, street parking, municipal stickers, the simple fact of having the luxury of having a car leads to many additional expenses,” he said.
His two-story, four-bed home also offers more space for his eight- and four-year-old children – and he feels they are safer and more independent outside of America’s third-largest city.
Commuting May Be Necessary for Your Career
Every long distance commuter Fortune the interviewer agreed that it was necessary to visit the office regularly, whether to spend some all-important face-to-face time with the boss or to exchange ideas with colleagues.
Micah Shepard is president and regional managing director of Schaeffler’s Asia operations, overseeing 1,600 employees across 10 offices, as well as factory sites.
Although Shephard lives in Pattaya, eastern Thailand, he spends half of his working year not only commuting, but also long-distance travel: next month alone he will visit Germany, Australia, Vietnam, China and the Philippines.
Without that sacrifice – Shepard is the father of two sons – the CEO said he “certainly” would not have achieved the same level of professional success.
“The visibility that comes with traveling or traveling to different locations puts you in a restricted category of employee,” he said. Fortune. “I also recommend that younger employees learn from older people who usually come to the office.”
As Shepard himself stated, those who work entirely remotely are “out of sight, out of mind”, but the recognized flexibility does not hold back staff if they perform well in a remote role. distance or hybrid.
As soon as he got back on the road, Shepard saw a difference in the company’s success.
“If I look at my team’s performance over the last year and the fact that I have traveled and returned to the market – compared to my peers – we have changed the fastest, the medium term growth has been faster and product releases, customer engagement and marketing activities have all increased significantly,” he said.