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33% Of Tech Professionals Prefer Commuting Onsite

Microsoft believes that daily commutes have unique benefits, and next year, Microsoft Teams will let users schedule “virtual commutes,” or blocks of time when users will be asked to set goals for the day and reflect on wins, losses and to-dos.

On Blind, an anonymous professional network, with 3.6M verified users, a IBM user ran a poll asking, “ What does everyone really prefer? Commuting onsite or working from home?

The poll had 4,608 responses and robust dialogue with 389 professionals commenting on their own experiences, here are some key learnings: 

  • 33% of professionals responded to the poll stating that they prefer commuting onsite 
    • 40% of Microsoft professionals responded to the poll stating that they prefer commuting onsite 
      • That is starkly contrasted with only 4% of Indeed.com professionals who say they prefer commuting onsite 
    • 63% of Snapchat professionals responded to the poll stating that they prefer commuting onsite 
    • 52% of Facebook  professionals responded to the poll stating that they prefer commuting onsite 

You can see the report highlighting the overall responses here.

According to Engadget, “The idea is that commutes help workers define the start and the end of their day and give them a space to think away from the distractions of work and home, The Wall Street Journal explains. Microsoft Teams hopes a virtual commute will help remote workers set definitive start and end times so that they’re not just constantly working.

According to WSJ, the feature is still being developed, but it may include asking users to write a list of goals or tasks for the day. At the end of the day, the feature will ask them which tasks they completed and move uncompleted tasks to the next day. It will also ask users how they feel in the morning and evening. The danger is that this will just feel like more work.” 

The IBM user who posted the poll shares their perspective in depth, sharing “I have personally been remote for years and have no intent on taking an onsite job ever again. With that said, I have had a fair amount of coworkers that hated WFH and couldn’t adjust. These are my observations for people for and against WFH:

Pro-WFH

  1. People with kids and family schedule
  2. No commute
  3. Convenience and time savings
  4. Can live anywhere
  5. No scummy manager or coworkers micromanaging you

Anti-WFH

  1. Want free food and other perks
  2. Need a place to escape their kids and families
  3. Work is their only social life
  4. Career advancement and networking more difficult
  5. Willing to commute and live in a high COL for larger salary

I live in a higher COL major city and used to take mass transit daily. I would go into the office once every 2-3 months before Covid, which always renewed my interest in being remote. I don’t miss the commute to be around people I didn’t really like. Do I miss the team outings and foosball game in the office? Sure I do, but not enough for me to commute 40 minutes each way.

As a remote worker, I’m responsible for my own amenities. I have a home office outfitted with the best toys and office equipment, far better than anything I could ever have in an office. I enjoy cooking my own gourmet meals, block my calendar to take a drive around the city for quick shopping trips, and will take a video game break to play COD throughout the business day. I own exercise equipment, and can freely take naps at my leisure.

I can’t stress how important it is creating a work environment that matches the office environment you are giving up. If you work 9-5, then do the same at home. Don’t compromise and use the time you saved commuting to do added work; this just creates the same burnout you would experience in the office. Also, if you like talking with your coworkers, then call them up. You would be surprised how often people want to talk to someone else. I spend several hours per week having water cooler chats with colleagues, they just happen to be virtual instead of by an actual water cooler.

You also need to match the perks you previously enjoyed in the office. If you’re just some schmoe sitting on a lumpy couch with a laptop drinking stale coffee and eating hot pockets, then you will definitely hate WFH and miss your ergo chair. Go buy yourself that ergo chair, an espresso machine and cookware set, and your WFH life will improve.”

An engineer at Splunk responded to the poll saying, ”Can we do half and half? Wfh is good for productivity but I really hate meeting via zoom”,  alluding to the prediction that hybrid work is the future. 

A user at Facebook responded to the poll, pointing out that the IBM user“forgot a major reason many people have a problem with 5 days a week WFH: lack of physical separation between work and personal space.”