Following a recent study conducted by recruitment company Robert Walters, they found 66% of workers feel a need for support with the cost of travel.
Two-thirds of the 2,000 workers who took part in the study believe their employers should alleviate the weight of travel costs.
Habiba Khatoon, Director of Robert Walters Midlands, said: “Calls for a return to office have only gotten louder this year, as leaders increasingly view them as being key to enhancing productivity and workplace culture.”
“We’re already noticing how an increasingly high cost-of-living, along with professionals being faced with longer commutes and travel disruptions, are influencing what they expect and value in employer offerings”.
Post-COVID-19, many workers are now in a hybrid working arrangement. Working both from their own home as well as the office.
This has led to many regretting their decision to move out of the hustle and bustle of city life in exchange for a longer commute.
Robert Walters stated: “Professionals travelling at least 90 minutes to get to work rose during and immediately after the pandemic as hybrid working arrangements meant professionals could move out of major cities”.
However, many now are finding trouble as commuting times are being drawn out due to circumstances outside their control. Delays and cancellations in traffic and public transport add extra minutes to commutes to work, leaving workers regretting their decisions to move away from the office for cheaper housing.
According to Robert Walters, commuting costs a third of professionals £200 each month. With driving and taking public transport the most popular forms of transportation to work in the UK, fuel prices are due to go up by 4% in March, and with bus fares going up from £2 to £3, prices are not getting any cheaper.
200 companies in the UK have signed up to make a permanent move to a four-day work week to alleviate the impact of the large-scale return to offices, which is impacting the increasingly popular hybrid work life too much.