The global pandemic not only transformed how we work, but also where and how we get to work. For many people that were instructed to work from home, and others who were told not to work at all, the daily commute became a rapidly fading memory overnight. The impact was instant: sharp falls in both road traffic and road deaths, cleaner air, empty commuter trains, and inner-city eateries issuing profit warnings as people saved money by making their own lunches at home.
While some people have returned to the office, many are still working from home and ‘blended working’ is becoming the new norm with benefits to both employers and employees, as office-based workers travel into work at most only a few days a week.
Turning a regular commute into a more occasional commute has been life changing in many ways – I am healthier, less stressed and more productive than ever.
– Judy Mackenzie Stuart, Chief Knowledge Officer, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner
Locking in these changes is essential if we are to banish the long, tiring and stressful commute to the pre-pandemic past. The long commute will not be missed; and people and planet are set to be happier and healthier without it.