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Reducing commute time is so important to Canadian employees that one-third of those surveyed said they would be willing to work an extra three hours per week for a reasonable commute to the office, according to a study by Oxford Properties and Environics Research Group.
Canadians surveyed identified accessibility and commuting as the most valued attributes in a workplace, with 76 per cent indicating they want a reasonable commute to the office. Fifty per cent of respondents state that commute time is the No. 1 factor that would cause them to choose one employer over another when all else is held constant.
“Employees and job seekers are placing an even greater emphasis on the value of their time and the transit options of a workplace,” says Andrew McAllan, senior vice-president and managing director, real estate, Oxford Properties. “Optimizing office location and transit accessibility in conjunction with collaborative spatial design and a wide variety of amenities, will be crucial selling points for employers to attract and retain the brightest, most loyal employees.”
Eighty two per cent of respondents said that a commute time of less than 30 minutes is the appropriate travel time to work. Close to 40 per cent of respondents also want their workplace to be close to lifestyle amenities, such as shops, restaurants and gyms to better balance their work and personal life priorities in a given day.
The survey shows that the more tech and social media savvy Generation Y demographic – comprising one-third of Canada’s population and the next wave of the country’s active labour force – place a greater importance on being physically in the office, with 79 per cent defining collaboration as working together in the same space in person. In comparison, only 59 per cent of boomers feel that collaboration means working face-to-face.
Other highlights from the study include:
– 44 per cent of respondents value a workplace that is easily accessible by public transit or within walking/biking distance (35 per cent).
– Generation Y is more likely than any other age group to work three extra hours per week for access to on-site or nearby lifestyle amenities.
– Despite greater flexible workplace options offered by employers, working from home is not the norm with the average respondent working only 1.8 days from home per month.
