Up until recently, for most people across the globe, a commute to work was something of a given, with the length, breadth and challenge of these commutes varying.

For some, your workplace could be your home, or a few streets away. For others, getting to work involves a stressful mix of trains, busses, car journeys & speedy walks in the rain, culminating in a multi-hour commute.

But in 2020, is this necessary? In the face of the recent global Covid-19 pandemic, businesses worldwide opened the floodgates for flexible working arrangements in multiple sectors, as the struggle to contain and delay the virus grew. Despite this, there is a chance that many of these businesses could revert to their old customs. Here’s why avoiding the rush hour commute could be positive for your business.
 
The Ever-Increasing Irish Commute
Irish workplace culture remains very much on a 9-5 basis, yet the commutes seem to grow increasingly worse.
1 in 10 Irish commuters spent an hour or more commuting to work in 2017, a 31 % increase in the 5 years previous. Meanwhile, AA found earlier this year that over half of Irish drivers spent longer commuting from work than they did in 2019.

While urban areas such as Dublin & Cork bear the brunt of Irish commuter woes, rural areas consistently suffer from poor transport connections, leading many people to overcrowd Ireland’s cities and only add to the increasing traffic pressures.

Something clearly must give – could it be your business’ working hours?

While our previous article delved into the possible pitfalls flexible working arrangements can present to your staff & business, flexi-time also provides the opportunity to calm the pressure on your commuting colleagues, leading to better performance & better work-life balance.
 
The Benefits & Necessity to Calm The Rush Hour Commute

1. Better Workplace Health

We’ve all been there. Started our early morning commute calm & collected, only to be met by burgeoning traffic delays, cancelled trains or the odd extreme weather element just to add into the mix. Arriving to work stressed to the hills is not a sign of a healthy, satisfied worker, but the opportunity for this stress to impact on your colleagues’ ability to work & your business’ performance as a result.

Introducing the opportunity to be flexible on working hours will allow colleagues to stagger their commutes, meaning less time in a car, bus or train, and more time in work, happy & ready for the day ahead.
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Meanwhile, for colleagues with personal dependents, flexi-time will give them the opportunity to get back home when they are needed, and not worried about the evening rush-hour commute ahead of them which could mean a missed swimming lesson, or a late departure from childcare.
 

1. Better Talent Retention

If your staff are unhappy with any aspect of their job, they could go walking. ‘Location, location, location’; where a workplace is relative to where you live is a vital part of any job. The shorter the commute, the more ‘me’ time you have left at home. In fact, 40% of Irish commuters claim they would take a pay cut if it meant being nearer to home.

By providing flexible working arrangements, this can ease staff stress around commuting, giving them back more time to be at home rather than travelling to and from work.

By doing so, you will most likely retain more talent and avoid the risk of a skills gap simply due to the location of your offices.
 
3. Better Business Performance
Psychologist Shawn Achor reflects: “Happiness inspires productivity” - the same can be said for your workers. Replacing the stress & pressure of the traditional rush hour commute with more flexible working hours will mean that your staff can enjoy shorter & less stressful commutes.

Coupled with the result of increased home time and a calmer start to the working day, your colleagues will be ready & willing to perform to a much greater capacity without the dreaded evening commute looming over them as the day wears on.

By taking this small step to changing the way your organisation & staff work, your business performance will increase - make flexible working arrangements beneficial & necessary for your business this year.

Dominating headlines since the rush of Brexit was swept away and the health crisis began to take a turn during 2020’s Chinese New Year, Coronavirus is on the tip of everyone’s tongue.
With numbers now hitting over 118,000 across the globe 43 in the Republic of Ireland (as of 11th March 2020), this health scare has swept the world’s population. Take a run to your local supermarket and you’ll be hard pressed to find a bottle of anti-bacterial hand wash, soap or hand sanitizer, while people stockpile as the threat begins to loom much closer to home.
Meanwhile, businesses are also feeling the pinch. Flybe has ground to a halt, while businesses within the hospitality & tourism are beginning to feel the domino effect as people decide to stay at home rather than book their summer holidays. Other businesses are awaiting what the impact will be on the wider economy; how many workers will have to take sick leave, either for themselves or a dependent? How will this impact performance? Will businesses simply have to shut up shop?
As the uncertainty rises, it is crucial that you get your HR team ready & waiting for the coronavirus to hit your workforce. Here’s what you can do about it.
 
Health First
Before we delve into the practical steps that you can take to protect your workers, customers & business during this health epidemic, it is important to note one crucial thing: remember to take health first above all else.
The threat to your business is very real, it’s clear for many businesses across the globe. And while it can be easy to fall into the trap of worrying over the books, it is crucial that you ensure workers, at any level, put their health first. While it is hoped that the hype will die down in the coming months, prepare for the worst-case scenario. You need your staff and they will need you – ensure they have all the support that they need to get back to work healthy and fit in the weeks and months after this virus begins to wane.
 
What Can Your Business Do About Covid-19?
No doubt about it, Coronavirus is a major threat to your business, your livelihood and Ireland’s economy. But here are some steps that you can take in the fight against this illness:
 

1. Safety First

Protecting your staff and your customers is paramount. Whether you are a coffee shop, a newsagent, hotel or library, most workplaces will involve the interaction of many groups of people; staff, customers, stakeholders, suppliers, delivery drivers – we could go on.
As people come & go, it is important to put safety first. Display official HSE signage throughout your place of work as well as electronically to all staff and customers. Encourage staff to take regular breaks to wash hands and care for their hygiene. Ensure the necessary hygeine products are available for all staff & visitors nd if needs be, enforce people to care for their hygiene.
Understandably, there is no need to treat your workforce or customers like children. However, kind but firm & consistent reminders will work best in getting the necessary messages across for hygiene purposes.
 

1. Be Clear On Sick Leave

As the media rushes to provide the latest developments on the virus, it can be easy for your staff to feel overwhelmed by this flood of information, which often could be misconstrued or over-hyped by news publications.
To tackle this, ensure you provide clear policies from your own employer perspective. Ensure all staff are clear on the procedures that they should follow if they feel that either they or someone close to them may have caught the virus.
Task management with the role of overseeing all staff, maintaining regular checks on how their staff are feeling and identifying any possible signs of the virus which should lead to testing of an employee.
If an employee is unfortunate to catch the virus, ensure that they are clear on what sick leave rights they are entitled to and ensure that you fulfil these policies. Maintaining consistent communication between all staff will build trust & provide some clarity to ease any worries staff may feel during this period.
This may sound somewhat regimental, but it is a must if you are to ensure that your business and staff battle coronavirus the right way.
 

1. Provide Work From Home Arrangements Where Possible

We get it – it isn’t always going to be possible to let employees work from home. If they run a warehouse of delivery goods, run operations in a hotel or if your business’ systems are simply impossible to access remotely, working from home will not be possible.
However, many businesses in 2020 have the capacity to allow staff to work from home during this epidemic. If your systems are on a cloud and if staff can operate simply from a laptop and/or phone, this will provide the opportunity for staff to self-isolate form the office, better protecting your workspace, colleagues & customers from the virus.
While it could impact some of your operations, this would allow staff to avoid interacting with large groups of people, making infection less likely and the road to a plateauing of the virus much nearer.