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The pros and cons of commuting
Everyone moans about the length of their commute. Should managers care?
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On average, people around the world spend roughly an hour a day commuting.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
The Economist
Ask someone if they have regrets, and very few people will say: “I wish I had spent more of my life commuting.” The time spent travelling from home to work and back again tends to be neither relaxing nor productive. It is usually routine and sometimes unpleasant; anything that involves loads of traffic or armpits is hard to like.
In popular culture, the monotony is the point. Commuting becomes a trap (Exit 8), a window on the real action (The Girl On The Train) or a commentary on the softness of modern society (The War Of The Worlds). The Covid-19 pandemic gave people the chance to experience a commute-free existence, and many of them loved it.
