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INDUSTRY & RESEARCH
Work from home policies have been the greatest transport policy lever in the last 70 years .
Train in vain
Researchers outline positive impacts of remote working on transport network .
By Wade Zaglas
Preliminary findings from a University of Sydney study have found that work from home policies have had the greatest impact on transport use in Australia in 70 years .
Researchers concluded that such policies could save employees on average two hours of travel time per week , or 90 hours per year .
The findings are based on a national survey conducted by researchers at the Institute of Transport and Logistical Studies ( ITLS ) at the University of Sydney Business School . The survey was conducted between March and September last year and involved 956 respondents .
“ Our survey shows that work from home policies have been the greatest transport policy lever in the last 70 years . It has helped deliver greater travel time savings than any other infrastructure or transport demand initiative ,” ITLS director and transport economist Professor David Hensher said .
As part of the ITLS study , researchers also calculated the cost savings for employees working in the Greater Sydney Metropolitan Area . By calculating average fare prices for public transport as well as toll and operating costs for car trips , the study concluded that work from home policies could save employees $ 906 on out-of-pocket expenses and $ 2643 in travel time savings .
“ These time savings can be invested into activities that give an individual more value ; be it spending more time with family or doing an extra bit of work which benefits business ,” study co-author Associate Professor Matthew Beck said .
OTHER INSIGHTS FROM THE PANDEMIC
The ILTS working paper , titled ‘ Insights into Working from Home in Australia in 2020 : Positives , Negatives and the Potential for Future Benefits to Transport and Society ’, also provides interesting and useful insights into both the benefits and concerns of working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic and its future potential .
“ While COVID‐19 has been a crippling event , working from home has the potential to be an unintended positive consequence of the widespread disruption ,” Beck and Hensher say .
“ There are benefits to the individual employee , to employers and businesses , and to the wider economy , including the transport network .”
The researchers also concluded that most employees were satisfied with working from home arrangements and , contrary to fears , productivity levels did not drop .
“ Additionally , our data also shows that productivity remains relatively unchanged and the employees are potentially becoming more productive as working from home becomes entrenched and new norms are developed ,” they say .
“ It is clear that the benefits are great and not to be ignored in any ambition to the return to pre‐COVID 19 ‘ normality ’.”
The researchers ’ working paper also discusses concerns relating to working from home practices , namely its potential economic effect on CBD businesses and managerial concerns .
“ While the impact on central business districts ( CBDs ) is currently large , a greater balance between working from home and the office is likely still enough activity to revitalise much of the business in the supply chain that is currently suffering ,” they contend .
While some managers have expressed the desire for employees to return to the workplace en masse , Beck and Hensher state that most “ show favourable attitudes to increased working from home ”, with the major concern being managers ’ abilities to supervise remotely .
“ Rather than reduce working from home due to a lack of managerial confidence , organisations should rather seek to equip managers with new skills to boost their ability to manage in technologically advanced environments ,” the researchers said .
THE FUTURE The researchers found that most of the survey respondents would prefer to work from home at least one day per week .
“ The future desires to work from home have been remarkably consistent since July last year , matching the current levels of working from home ,” Beck said .
“ This means that on any given weekday there would be up to 30 per cent of people working from home , which would result in significantly less congestion on roads and crowding on public transport .” ■
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