Bosses and workers still can’t agree on whether the commute is part of the work day, and it’s creating a $578 billion productivity problem
Bosses and workers still can’t agree on whether the commute is part of the work day, and it’s creating a $578 billion productivity problem
It's creating a $578 billion productivity problem
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On the one hand, as a worker, I absolutely think it should be considered part of the work day, HOWEVER, there's so many factors that go into what constitutes your commute, that I'm not sure how businesses would account for that. Is it based on distance, so the farther away you live, the more compensation you get, just because you live further away? That seems to unfairly reward people people who live farther away. Do you just give a blanket extra 1 hr (30 min before/after the work day) to everyone to account for it, assuming that that covers most cases?
It does seem to be a standard for most businesses that travel, you're paying for their time just to come out. I've had plenty of plumbers/handymen/house fixerish people who have charged just for gracing me with their presence for <10 min, even though they didn't actually do any work, there's usually a ~$50–100 minimum charge for house calls. I'm assuming their travel time is getting factored into it, so why shouldn't other workers travel time be factored in as well?
Am commercial HVAC mechanic. My clock starts when I get to the shop, grab stuff, then start travelling, or when I get to site if I start there, then ends when I leave my last call for the day.
I can spend anywhere between 10-12 hrs a day not being at home due to traffic, and get paid for 8.
But I see your idea of having a standard 1 hr in and 1 hr out as a compromise and it's up to you how close or far you live to your work location or bubble. For me, I live within my work bubble, and can work anywhere in the region depending on the day. Could be anywehere between 10 minutes, and 2 hours.
Seems like the most straightforward way to account for commute would be to average the commute times of all employees at a workplace and pay accordingly. If a business doesn't want to pay that, they can set up a work-from-home situation.