According to professional recruitment consultancy Robert Walters, U.S. professionals spend 1-5% of their annual salaries on commutes alone. Unsurprisingly, 60% of employees believe commutes are the most important expense employers can subsidize, and 74% name commutes as a major factor when considering a new job. Yet, 88% of workers don't receive any commute support from their employers.
As companies push workers back into the office,
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"Commuting costs are really high, and people realized they've got all this extra money by not having to commute," says Sean Puddle, managing director of Robert Walters, North America. "Then there's the element of work-life balance. Most people feel that commutes are highly unproductive when that time could be spent at home doing something that matters to them."
For Puddle, it's clear that employees' expectations of their workplaces have changed in the last five years. Flexibility continues to be a priority, with Robert Walters' data showing 35% of professionals are willing to take a lower-paying job for the increased ability to work remotely. Meanwhile, less than 2% of employees are willing to commute longer than two hours, and 56% won't travel for any longer than 45 minutes.
"As [RTO] requirements have gone from being one to two days a week to potentially three to four days a week, we're starting to see people being less and less inclined to spend that time commuting," says Puddle. "There's also a portion of people who moved out of the key metro areas during COVID, and now they're suddenly required to come back to the office. That's something that could very well drive attrition issues within businesses."
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It seems managers are aware of the retention risks: Robert Walters found that 40% of managers are thinking about implementing a "hushed hybrid" policy, allowing their team members to quietly work from home.
If employers want to keep their top talent amid their RTO push, Puddle advises them to offer compromises where they can. This may mean offering transit passes or commuting and parking subsidies, or even just allowing people to travel to the office outside of the typical nine-to-five hours.
"If you have to be back in the office, how do you make it more compelling for people?" says Puddle. "Can you give people the flexibility to determine when they should be in, so they can manage their commute more effectively? In California, for example, depending on the time you leave, you could add hours to your commute."
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While employers may feel like they do not have to prioritize talent retention in the current job market, Puddle warns them against alienating workers by dismissing their concerns. Eventually, people will leave, and the best performers tend to exit first.
"In a world where we're not seeing massive salary increases, the battle will be in the benefits," he says. "So think about being flexible and consider financial benefits that relieve some of that cost pain as well."
