Tip of the Week: Save Time and Money By Ditching the Commute

For many workers, driving to and from the office is a way of life. In view of this, many have commuted for so long that they can’t imagine life without this daily drive. Despite commuting being the norm, employers and employees alike will gain substantial benefits by ditching the practice altogether. Today’s technology puts this goal within reach.

To give you an idea of just how much time workers spend on the road, consider this statistic from the U.S. Census Bureau; in the United States, the average commute is around 25 minutes each way. This equates to almost a full hour each work day being lost to fighting traffic. It’s also worth noting that 50 minutes of drive time is just the average commute--you shouldn’t have to look too far around the office to find employees that spend significantly more time than this getting to and from work.

There are some fairly significant disadvantages to commuting, and when you compare them, you begin to see how this accepted practice may actually be holding your business back from reaching its full potential.

Commuting Eats Away at Your Energy
Every productivity-minded person understands how each person has a limited amount of energy that they’re able to give each workday. Having to spend a significant amount of this energy doing something stress-filled like fighting traffic can be frustrating, especially when one finds themselves lacking the energy to do more important things, like spending time with their family. It can also be equally frustrating when you start the day on a good note, only to have a bad traffic experience on the way to work that puts you in a bad mood for the rest of the workday.

Commuting Causes Exhaustion and Sleep Deprivation
Not only can spending so much time behind the wheel be exhausting, but it can also cut into precious sleep time. A lack of sleep can be devastating when it comes to two important areas. In the workplace environment, a sleep-deprived worker is prone to making costly mistakes. Also, during the commute itself, a sleep-deprived driver is at a higher risk of falling asleep behind the wheel, which can have some disastrous consequences. By finding ways to give your staff more time to rest, like removing the commute, you’ll help negate these risks.

Perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions about remote workers is that implementing the practice will cost your business too much money. However, the reality of remote work is that it actually improves your bottom line by decreasing operational costs. For example, consider the resources around the office that you won’t have to spend money on if an employee worked from home; a move like this will save on electricity, computer hardware, and even having to rent office space altogether.

One CEO who has found this to be the case is Sara Sutton Fell of Flexjobs. She states in an interview with Inc that 47 percent of her staff works remotely, saving her organization around $78 million. As you can see, even a small business stands to gain some level of cost savings from having a remote workforce.

All of these points considered, making the decision to ditch the commute is an easy one to make, which means that the next step is to make sure that your remote workers and your office are utilizing the right technology that allows for a smooth and secure remote work experience. To make sure that your company is fully equipped to enjoy the benefits of never having to commute again, give Macro Systems a call today at (703) 359-9211.