Employees look to flexible working to cut wasted commute times

British commuters waste 4.6 million hours commuting every day, according to research released by GoToMyPC.

The research, published as part of National Commute Smart Week, looked into the attitudes towards the daily commute by workers and how they thought the time could better be used.

Home working was the most popular solution, gaining support of 34 per cent of the 1,970 people surveyed, and a further 32 per cent thought technology should be better utilised for flexible and remote working.

However, almost half (46 per cent) of the respondents claimed their boss was a barrier to these “commute smart” ideas as many wouldn’t allow them to do it.

Graham Jones, an internet Psychologist, said in a statement: “Bosses who insist that people all go to work at the same time and stick to a set routine are actually weakening their business.”

He added: “That's because people generally don't like being told how to run their life; they feel their boss is controlling them and therefore are actually less motivated. Using the Internet, for instance, to gain increased flexibility means that motivation levels in office staff could rise as people feel more in control of their own destiny."

Phil Flaxton, chief executive at Work Wise UK, is one of the organisers of the week dedicated to commuting smartly to help improve the working lives of UK employees.

“Commute Smart week is all about looking at ways that UK workers can improve their work-life balance by reducing the strain and stress caused by commuting," he said in a statement.

“The GoToMyPC survey reveals there is a lot of frustration amongst British workers that could easily be reduced if more businesses adopted and embraced smarter working practices.”

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