The Commute's Impact on Employee Experience

Commute times are getting longer, people live further from their jobs, and the majority of people drive alone to work. In fact, the most recent U S Census Report found that 76% of Americans drive alone. That’s 115 million commuters who take over 500 trips per year. Not only that, but travel times have continued on an upward trend for nearly 40 years, with the average worker now enduring a daily round-trip commute of 53 minutes — this is alongside the nearly 4 million Americans commuting 90 minutes or more every day.

Many companies consistently underestimate the gravity of commuting’s impact on both their people and their business goals, resulting in one of the most significant gaps in employer-employee perception: nearly 75% of candidates consider the commute when choosing job opportunities, while only 37% of hiring managers find it a factor. This disconnect, in turn, affects retention across the board: the commute is now the third largest driver of voluntary attrition, second only to compensation and unexpected overtime.

We created this report to help organizations better understand how the commute impacts their people and their business, namely retention, attrition, and workplace productivity.

In conjunction with external research and Scoop carpooler data, employers can use the following insights to address the commute and its impact on their workforce.