FC Experts Blogs
November 12, 2007
Work/Life: Why Do We All Commute at the Same Time?
A member of my team and I caught the 7:05 a.m. train into Manhattan for a client meeting. Something must have been wrong with the trains that morning because it was standing-room only and there were still eight stops to go. People were not happy. We arrived in Penn Station and then fought our way through the crowd into the equally packed subway. Once we emerged into fresh air we both looked at each other and almost simultaneously said, "Why do we all keep commuting at the same time when we really don't have to?"
We started imaging what the world would look like if everyone staggered the time they went to work or worked from home at least one day a week. Not only would you have fewer cars on the road and fewer people on public transportation, but the roads, trains and buses would be used more efficiently. For example, one group could arrive early and leave early, another shift could arrive mid-day and stay later, and then a final group could arrive in the late afternoon and stay through the evening.
Think of the benefits:
1) Teams and clients in other times zones would have better coverage
2) People would have more flexible options for managing their work+life fit
3) Employees would be less stressed and drained when they arrive at the office and at home
4) The environment would benefit
5) Companies would use their real estate more efficiently
As we arrived at our client's office, we ended our brainstorming session with a prediction: in 30 years we will look back and laugh that we all ever commuted to work at the same time everyday. Today we are like the pre-Industrial Age farmers who couldn't have imaged going to work in a factory. Our children and grandchildren will commute to a location when it makes sense, and not just because it's what "we all do." And they will do it in a flexible way.
What do you think? What is your vision of the future of commuting and what do you think the tipping point will be that will challenge this outdated, unnecessary behavior?
Posted by Cali Williams Yost at November 12, 2007 2:10 PM | Topic: work/life |
3 Comments
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Different novels have explored this idea in various ways, but the most recent example that I can think of is in Chuck Pahlaniuk's "Rant"-- half of the population is employed exclusively during the nighttime, and there tends to be a fair amount of classism that arises from the stigma of working at night.
I think the ideas behind "metaverse" style workplaces make a lot more sense for a lot of people in the long run. Unless you have a job that requires more than the transaction or manipulation of data, a telecommute reduces stress on the environment, increases happiness of workers, and reduces the overall cost for the employer (since they require less infrastructure and energy).
And it's a lot easier working with people in other time zones when you can do it in your pajamas.
Boeing in Seattle has been staggering their shift for years largely because 40,000 employees coming on/off a shift at the same time would choke traffic for miles. Shifts are staggered through the day to prevent traffic jams and parking lot nightmares.
I've also noticed that there is a distinct difference in drivers between the 5:30-6am traffic that seems to change in roughly 45 minute increments. The people still on the road at 7:45 or 8:00am are disorganized, distracted, impatient, tailgating, and drive crappier cars than the earlier crowd. Leaving earlier gets me to the office more relaxed, unrushed, caught up on the morning business news. I also leave the office at a staggered time to avoid rush hour on the way home. I leave early 3 days a week, and stay late 2 days.
IBM in Germany have no fixed working hours which makes commuting in rush hour a weird concept. It also helps hugely with work life balance.
I worked in UK where most companies still stick to the 9 to 5 strict working hours, and never understood whats the point, when most people play tetris or the modern equivalent for 20% of that time.