Should commuting time be counted as work? When hiring, do managers look at the candidate’s address and make distance from workplace a consideration in their recruiting decision? A couple of recent research studies have put the spotlight once again on an age-old issue — that of giving the best deal to someone who stays far away from work, and yet being fair to someone who lives close by.
A study done by University of West of England researchers on what people did during their commute by train found that most checked their work email or pored over documents, especially when the rail network provided free Wi-Fi.
In Norway, the government is already considering classifying travel time as work time, and other European governments could take this up too, since there is growing clamour around it — especially as technology has enabled work during commuting.
Meanwhile, Harvard Business Review (HBR) published an article based on a study on how hiring managers responded to similar applicants who reported different residential addresses. The article concluded that there was a bias against candidates who have longer commutes, though this was mainly in the case of low-wage jobs.
Both the pieces of research led to a huge debate in India over social media where a lot of people, including HR practitioners, aired their opinions.
A balancing act is needed
Preeti Bose, a senior talent and development HR professional, who triggered off the debate on the HBR article on Twitter, says, “As hiring managers, it’s commonplace to fall into the trap of looking at several facets, some of which don’t even speak of capability, role fit, and culture fit assessment. Candidates with long commutes have been known to come under additional scanner during the recruitment process.”
But her view is that “ When a candidate applies for a job, I trust them to have considered all factors, including work commute. If they can manage it, as hiring managers, we shouldn’t second-guess it.”
Recruitment consultant Dony Kuriakose, Director, Edge Executive Search, has a slightly different take. He feels it is a practical consideration on the part of hiring managers to question candidates about commute time. But the onus of choice should rest purely on the candidate.
“These are personal choices of an individual. But if an individual has only done 3-km commutes all his life and is suddenly faced with a 30-km commute, the hiring manager must ask the candidate whether he knows what he is getting into.”
Kuriakose also says there are candidates who use the long commute to drive hard bargains, say, a higher raise. “People who come in with entitlement orientation can divide the staff. In the process of accommodating someone with longer commutes, you shouldn’t end up doing reverse discrimination to the person staying close,” he warns.
From Vaishali to Gurugram
Now listen to Prateek Chatterjee, Senior vice-president, corporate communications and Marketing, at NIIT. He stays in Vaishali, on the eastern fringes of Delhi and commutes daily to the NIIT headquarters at Gurugram, a journey that takes him two hours each way. And he has been doing this for 12 years. Has the commute ever daunted him and made him rethink his job?
“The way I look at it is, when I wake up in the morning, do I feel excited about going to work? So far, the answer has always been yes,” he responds.
All other things, the commuting time, how to make it happen, are all matters of detail after that, and can be worked out, he says.
Also, he adds, somebody who has been commuting long distances learns to make the journey efficient and effective. For instance, he says, he has hired a driver so he can utilise the two hours to read up and be on speed by the time he arrives at office. During the journey back, he utilises the time to catch up with friends.
“The journey can be used as an ‘isolated me time’ to plan and strategise,” he says, pointing out that even when he does not use his car but opts for a ride share on the office shuttle, the commute time can be used advantageously.
So, should his commute time be counted in his work hours? Chatterjee says that thankfully, at NIIT, there is no concept of clock in, clock out — there is only one time attendance so it really does not matter. Ultimately, if the company looks at deliverables rather than work hours, the issue won’t crop up at all, he reasons.
Indeed, long commutes need not become a bone of contention between employers and employees if some good policies are in place.
As Bose says, the key is in being employee-friendly. You could provide options of flexi-time, remote working, and working from home.
Some organisations offer transport facility. “The pertinent questions to focus on are: how do we ensure inspired, engaged, and effective team members and how can we make life easier for them?” she says.
Kuriakose says if an individual has shown commitment to his job, there are many practical steps that an organisation can take — readjust timings, offer occasional ‘work from home’ benefits, and make sure that commute time does not end up dividing staff. For instance, he says, at his own office, a new mother who stayed close by was given an extended lunch hour to go home to look in on her baby, while somebody staying far off would be told to leave early from work, thereby giving both equal benefits.
Finally, as Chatterjee points out, in the 12 years he has been commuting, he has found transportation solutions have been improving by the day — ride-share apps have come in now.
Who knows, there could be smarter solutions on the way, like the hyperloop, that could make the commuting bugbear a non-issue!