Commute Compensation - Exploring A Paid Drive To Work

Why yes, I do consider myself a driven individual while at work

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There's something to be said for living close to where you work. Longer sleep-ins, less morning rush, and fewer instances of playing guessing games with your schedule. There are very few redeeming qualities to the idea of getting in a car and battling with all the other wonderful motorists out on the road. Couple it with construction, delays, and the occasional snowstorm or torrential downpour, and it makes for a miserable experience. Makes you wish you stayed in bed to be honest.

Truthfully, home prices can be affected by everyone's mass dislike for the morning commute. People will pay (a lot) to chop that 45 minute drive-in down by even a small portion. It's not even limited to driving either! Ask anyone out in below-freezing temperatures in the middle of winter at a bus stop how they're enjoying their morning commute. On top of it all, it's not like it's a relaxing time either. You are constantly racing the clock, timing when you leave to ensure you don't get caught and end up late. Then you find out everyone is playing the same game and everyone ends up mad at each other. Nice way to start the morning. No amount of coffee can remedy the fact that the commute to work... well... it sucks.

Driving while on shift is a different beast. Yes, you're still fighting the clock, the road conditions, and all the other people on the road that definitely can't drive as well as you, but you're getting paid to do it! Site visits, remote meetings, company out-of-office events, and more are all just straight up preferable to the morning commute simply because you're lining your pocket while doing so. That's not even considering those employees whose job revolve around driving such as truck drivers or first responders. If you have a company vehicle and you're burning company gas, even better (that stuff is bloody expensive these days).

And after that day is done, you commute home. Once more, you find yourself caught in "Rush Hour", unable in some areas to do more than inch a couple car lengths at a time toward home. If home is more than a few blocks away, then you better hope your playlist is ready to go. Once more, the benefits of living close to work rise into the spotlight.

What if things were different? What if we could make the commute not suck? What would that look like? Unfortunately we aren't at the point yet where we have ultra-efficient transit for everyone, so what should we do? Is it too far-fetched to consider paying people for their time in a commute? The idea is widely unexplored as far as any real-world examples go, so let's investigate a little and see what pros and cons lie ahead for a compensated commute.

What would be some benefits to paying people for the commute? What would be the drawbacks? And how does the "Work From Home" factor play into all of it?

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Oh no, a red light...

Before we go further I need to clarify that I am not outright endorsing that everyone should get paid for a commute and every system that came before is pure evil. Would I turn down the offer of a paid commute? No, and I don't feel many would either. I can understand where the hesitation to adopt this system comes from, but that's for later. So why would it be a good thing to pay people the minute they walk out the door?

I'll start with the obvious, low hanging fruit. You are getting paid! Does this mean a shorter workday? More potential for overtime? The possibilities here are vast, but at the end of the day, you are getting money for less. I can understand that this will make many business-minded people upset, but there are a good number of people who don't subscribe to "The Grind" anymore. It's a major catalyst for "Quiet Quitting", and the employees on the bottom will love this as an option. It could even go so far as to help boost morale!

There must be more to it than money though right? Of course!

As far as the commute itself is concerned, no more last minute speed runs or people burning up from behind you at 30km over the speed limit. It will encourage people to drive slower and safer, and you'll see less instances of road rage. Does this need to be balanced with the expectation that you won't take the very very very long way to work? Yes, certainly. But if respected, you have less angry people and increasingly safe roads!

Not a driver? That wait for the bus in sub-freezing temperatures just got a little warmer. That uphill bike ride just became a little less steep. The train you board only to find standing room is just that little more bearable. People don't have to drive to lose time to a commute, and this is becoming increasingly true as suburbs stretch further from the city center. The balance of paying an arm and a leg to work close to the office can be offset too simply by printing a paycheck for the few minutes' walk to work.

The paid commute would reposition the housing market with new priorities in the minds of buyers. Sketchy areas of a city could become more attractive, and previously unattractive long-commute areas could see new life. Build up infrastructure and you have what could be a winning formula.

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Give an inch, take a mile

Putting money in the pockets of people is all well and good, but it's not a flawless system. As with anything, if you give an inch there will be people that decide to take a mile. Unfortunately, that's exactly the core issue that looms over the entire concept of the paid commute... how do you build a system that can be so easily exploited without any short or long term financial gain for your business?

The first hurdle to tackle is the issue of flat-out dishonesty. Unless you have GPS installed on everyone's car or hire a personal investigator to spy on every employee, who's going to check their claim when they say they left at X time and should therefore be paid starting at X time? Sure, not everyone will be dishonest, but for those that are, do you expect this to stop at just a couple minutes here and there? Time theft is already a hot button issue; this would set it into overdrive. There's also the issue of "Oh yeah it was bad traffic and construction." Again, what's stopping people from taking the scenic route?

There's also the issue of what you're doing behind the wheel, on the bike, or in the train. If a company is paying you the second you leave, are you expected to be on company time doing company duties? How far do we push that? Are we to expect people to take conference calls while hauling themselves up a hill on a mountain bike? How do we handle instances of no cell reception while riding a rail underground? Do we really want more reasons for people to distracted drive (given it's already a massive and well documented hazard)?

There's also an element at play here on top of all this... how fair is it? Do those who live further and commute longer just get free time? Is there any incentive to living close to work if that's the case? Would we not risk creating areas which would be undesirable to live under this system and make so called "Rough Neighborhoods" worse in the long run? Would we treat it like a "Smoke Break" where everyone is entitled to time? Who's enforcing it? And then at the end of the day, the issue of honesty comes up again and we're back to square one.

I am all for a paid commute, but these are all issues that need to be addressed in order for the system to work. There needs to be a way to balance far-flung commute areas and short, close-to-everything neighborhoods such that no one feels punished for their choice.

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About that hybrid thing...

The pandemic gave the working world a massive shake and left no industry untouched. Personal at all levels of business felt the effects of what was a large disruptive force. It forced companies to adapt and make accommodations that even at the time of writing are still in place. One of those adaptations was the "Work From Home" model (and to a more enduring extent, the "Hybrid" model). In a discussion focused on whether commuting to work should be paid time, we cannot overlook the third option... what if there was no commute?

On the surface, it seems like an unlikely solution to the problem, especially if you support the paid commute. If you have to commute, you get paid. If you're the lucky one that gets to work from the comfort of your home, that's the benefit. Unfortunately, it becomes a logistical nightmare once even a single step is taken off course. How do you balance the "Hybrid" factor and include days where the person DOES commute? How do they handle on-site work if they're full work from home? How about client meetings? Is a mid-day trip to pick the kid up from school billable time because it's technically a commute?

On the flip side, the compensated commute could be the silver bullet that companies have been searching for to finally incentivize a full return to the office. Many businesses are already leery that their stay-at-home employees aren't working hard enough, so perhaps this is the nail in the coffin to drive people back in. It becomes a balancing act of how much an employee wants the paid time spent driving versus the time spent at home. And for those who haven't made the move off full work from home, is there much motivation to make the move without an incentive like paid commute time?

The option to work from home was great for those who wanted to avoid a large commute long term (and have a different work-life balance than the norm up to that point). With a paid commute, that large commute now becomes a decision maker of whether you want to drive in and be paid for a lengthy ride in the vehicle of your choice (not to mention the discussion on productivity during that commute) or stay at home and have a relaxing wake up to start your day. Work from home truly takes an already contentious issue and opens several more cans of proverbial worms.

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Never say never

Paid commutes are likely not coming soon. That being said, I don't think anyone would have been able to predict the changes that have happened over the last three or so years in the business world. Industries need to react to change (typically it's reactionary as it's easier to maintain that status quo as long as possible), and who's to say that reaction in the future won't demand a paid commute. We have seen workplaces adopt remote work policies and hybrid environments, so would this be the next logical step to incentivize hiring and working locally? There are many things that you could consider reaction-worthy and that could pave the way for a paid commute. It's a matter of whether commuters will ask for it and whether anyone will respond to the ask. It certainly throws the floodgates on the potential for housing options wide open.

This concept will always be in the middle of a firestorm as far as the factors at play. Inflation, productivity, wage, accessibility, equality, and many more considerations will always be thrown up in defense of both sides of the argument. There will be no end in sight for the debate for some time and it's unlikely that it will gain widespread adoption if introduced. There are some glimmers of hope for the idea though... some companies and countries are currently experimenting with the "Four Day Work Week". If these sorts of movements gain traction, there's no predicting how far things will go. Only thing left to do is wait and see.

~IR

Is your commute to work a daily pain? Are you working hybrid or remote? Or maybe you just have a comment to add? Check out the Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn page and let everyone know. Don't forget to follow or like the page for updates! And share this article if you feel others should give it a read!

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