Have you ever wondered how much time you spend commuting? Try this. Double your average commute time, multiply by 5 (if you work for five days a week) and then multiply it again by 52. You are probably looking at more than 300 hours, right?
Commuting from home to your office in Manila has an average time of 45.5 minutes, according to the CNN. If you drive or ride the bus instead of taking the MRT, your average commute time would be more than that. In a perfect world, we would get paid more for every hour we spend in transit, as suggested in Stutzer and Frey’s “Stress That Doesn’t Pay: The Commuting Paradox.” But if that was so, most companies would probably hire only those people living nearby than pay extra. What’s the practical alternative for you?
Work close to home.
Have you considered working close to home before you accepted your fate as a victim of long commutes, traffic jams, and uncomfortable public transportation? If not, here are things you might want to consider:
1. Do it for Your Health
Good health is connected to better focus, and better focus means improved work performance. If your workplace is nearby, you have the option to walk and bike to work. Although the Philippines does not face an obesity crisis, “commutercising” is not just a good way to lose excess fat, you are also doing something to reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and dementia. Not to mention, exercise is good for reducing the size of your skin’s pores, too.
2. It’s Cost-effective
See, if you have to spend more than a hundred bucks to go to work, you are going to be robbing yourself of the chance of accumulating wealth (faster–if that’s already your thing). For many Filipinos, that’s roughly Php 25,000 a year.
3. Get the Most Out of Your Most Valuable Resource
What’s your most valuable resource? Time. At 80 minutes per day, you are ultimately adding another work day to your workweek – whether you don’t realize it or not (because you’re either busy driving or sleeping inside a bus). Can you handle that?
4. It’s Already a Way of Life for Many People
Take the city of Marikina, for example. It’s a place renowned for its shoes and foodie hubs. It’s also one of those cities in Metro Manila where there are bike-friendly lanes respected by drivers and pedestrians alike. If you have the time to explore the city, you could discover that a lot of the citizens are employed in nearby businesses.
5. It Increases Your Happiness
You don’t have to give up fun and sleep. Working close to home will only add time to enjoy your “Netflix and chill” moments, more time to explore restaurants you have not tried out yet, and a whole lot more time you can enjoy with your family and friends (or your Me-time, if that’s also your thing).
Working close to home is so foreign to many people that they overlook the companies that are hiring just around the corner. Many people are willing to go through the hassle of the long commute just for the high salary involved. It’s absurd not to work close to home once you realize the true cost of commuting. If you value your health and your time, maybe it’s time to look for a job near you.
Are you tired of commuting? Have you tried working close to home? Share your stories below!