Many think that commuting between home and work is just a chore and a waste of time, but during the remote work boom with the COVID-19 pandemic, it was noticed that many people were missing this journey because it provided the opportunity to transition from professional to home roles.
When the pandemic forced employees around the world to work remotely, many people realized during this time how much time it would be wasted commuting to the office every day, and what difference it could make professionally and personally if they could use it.
At the same time, there have been calls for the adoption of a "hybrid work" model, which balances two-day remote work with 3 days of office work or vice versa, in order to gain mobility and non-mobility at the same time.
The question remains: is commuting between work and home wasted time? Or does it have psychological benefits in employees?
Lack of the ability to mentally separate the work environment from home, leads to stress and suffering from so-called "burnout" (Getty Images)
Recovering from work stress
In their report published by the American website "bigthink", authors Matthew Piszczek and Christy McAlpine, as management scientists, tried to study the relationship between work and personal life and understand what people missed when they were suddenly prevented from commuting between work and home due to the pandemic.
In their recently published study, the authors said commuting to and from work is a "buffer space," meaning free time that provides an opportunity to recover from work stress and prepare to go home.
But during the shift to remote work, many people lost these important daily processes, lacking the ability to mentally separate the work environment from home, and the line between these roles blurred resulting in stress and suffering from so-called "burnout."
Their research focused on two cognitive processes: psychological separation from work (i.e., mental disconnection from work demands) and psychological recovery from work (meaning the replenishment of mental energy used during work).
Based on their review, the authors said that the space between work and home — created on the go — created opportunities for separation and recovery.
To promote separation from work and relaxation on the go, the authors advise avoiding remembering details of the workday and focusing instead on personal space at commuting time, such as listening to music, podcasts, or calling a friend; public transportation may also provide opportunities to promote social connection.
How much time do we waste commuting to offices?
There are those who argue that time wasted commuting to the office every day can make a difference both professionally and personally if used. In a report published by the Washington Post, writer Sergio Pisania defends the remote work model, stressing that lost hours can be used to commute daily to offices for other activities that make our lives better.
The American employee spends about an hour commuting to work every day, 250 hours a year, or 10 full days. At the end of a career, the total time spent commuting to work can be up to a year.
Suppose you use your daily commute hour to learn a new language, after one year you can master that language completely, and then start learning other languages, or get a black belt in one martial art, or master any other skill. Alternatively, it can also increase hours of sleep, rest, meditation and other activities.
If some people do fun or useful things on the go, they can find better places to do them away from transportation, by spending time with friends, gardening, exercising, cooking, knitting, or sleeping.
Distributing these activities throughout the week is the best way to preserve the valuable opportunities that the pandemic has presented us, he said.
Hybrid work application
On the other hand, several companies are currently trying to make work arrangements more flexible, enabling workers to spend time in the office and others at home, within the so-called hybrid model, and thus both the teams of supporters of working from home and supporters of working from the office may also invest their commute time, or time not commuting, in the way that suits them.
Under the hybrid system, workers need guidance so that they can navigate in the virtual work environment as well as in the physical workplace. Make sure team members know when they'll be in the office or workplace, and when they'll be working from home.
This is a prerequisite for hybrid work in changing circumstances, says Catherine Glatzel, an author and consultant on cooperative leadership, in a report published by dpa news agency.
Glatzel recommends using a calendar to create a 4-week plan that explains everything about people, places and timings. There are often fixed team days when everyone meets in the office.