The commute is something that few of us enjoy, and indeed research has shown that people will often gladly substitute a higher salary for a shorter commute.  One might imagine the forced imposition of home working brought about by the outbreak of the coronavirus would have at least the solitary benefit of removing the commute from our life, but research from Cambridge University suggests things might not be so straightforward.

They argue that our commute actually plays a vital role in helping us transition from our work life to our personal life, thus greatly helping our work-life balance.  Indeed, the commute is especially important for those who struggle with work-family conflicts.

“With no more separation of home and work, many remote workers will now miss out on the opportunity to transition into their work role during their commute,” the researchers say.  “Our study challenges the idea that commuting time is necessarily harmful and has a negative impact on workers’ attitudes toward their jobs. The situation actually is far more nuanced: instead of passively enduring what many people see as a drudgery, employees can actively shape their commute into a useful period of role transition that will benefit them at work.”

Making the transition

The researchers explain that long commutes are especially hard for employees who are struggling the most with work-family conflicts, and can lead to significantly lower job satisfaction and higher employee turnover.  They advocate a strategy referred to as ‘role-clarifying prospection’, which involves thinking about the upcoming work day during the morning commute.

“Role-clarifying prospection allows employees to shift their attention from what they are currently experiencing, which maybe being stuck in a traffic jam during their commute, to a focus on what their experience will be when they arrive at the workplace,” they explain.  “This type of focus in effect allows people to play-act in their minds the role they’ll have at the workplace following their morning commute, and this provides them with a sense of the role they will be transitioning to at the workplace.”

Suffice to say, when we work from home, this approach is no longer available to us.  There’s an impression that working from home will automatically improve our work-life balance as there is almost a societal belief that our home is our castle and a respite from the horrors of the world.  Unfortunately, for some who are now forced to work from home, their home environment is anything but a refuge, and presents real challenges to a healthy and harmonious work-life balance.