How to make the work commute more enjoyable

One of the least enjoyable aspects of working – at least for most people – is the actual commute to and from work. You have workers who sacrifice hours on public transport, others who have to drive across town, and those who might have a combination of walking or riding thrown in. 

Some people view travel time as lost or wasted time. Others prefer to avoid it altogether and work from home. But what if there was a way for you, as an employer, to make it more enjoyable and beneficial for your staff? 

Of course, you can’t make your employees do something, so how about offering insightful resources or podcasts to help time go faster and make the work commute more enjoyable?

Purposeful podcasts

Roughly one-third of the Australian population listens to podcasts on a regular basis with the majority of those listeners 40 or under. For the most part, people are listening to podcasts at home (87%) or in the car (64%), and this is where you can play a role in suggesting some insightful content.

Ultimately, there’s no limit on what you deem relevant for your employees so you can provide plenty of suggestions to appeal to all kinds of people. For example, consider topics such as:

• Aged care: There are industry-relevant podcasts from Baptist Care, ACCPA, LGBTIQ+ Health Australia and SilVR Adventures
• Learning and development by Learning Uncut
• Finance and spending tips from She’s on the money
• Mental health explorations from Young Blood Mens Mental Health or The Authentic Me
• Professional insights from How I Work or The Leading Beings

With so many podcasts out there, you can even work off your own personal interests. Because if it inspires or motivates you, chances are your employees will also enjoy listening to it.  

Insightful Books

Employees catching public transport are among those most likely to take advantage of books, and this is where you can turn from employer to library. Not only will this help encourage personal development in employees, but they may also strengthen their reading and writing skills.

• Consider purchasing educational, self-help, motivational or personal development books that employees can really benefit from – even second-hand books will do the trick
• Set up a small library in the staff room, even just one bookshelf will do
• Allow employees to borrow books for a couple of weeks at a time
• Encourage employees to participate by bringing in old or unused books to share around
• Over time, you can even add different genres of books so employees have something of interest to read during breaks

Meaningful music

Everyone has their own music tastes so music suggestions can be incredibly hit-and-miss. But there are some creative ways to foster employee interaction while broadening horizons for employees who might not dabble in new genres.

One option is to create a shared playlist through a platform like Spotify. Here, you could encourage employees to add their own songs to the playlist as a way to share music (of course, certain rules should apply to keep it family-friendly). Songs could be based on a certain theme or event.

Another option could be a playlist crafted by specific staff members that’s shared around. One week it could be the CEO, the next a lifestyle assistant or marketing manager. This creates a talking point where staff can learn more about others and build relationships over music. 

Online resources

Finally, there are online resources that can help in a considerable number of ways, whether it’s self-help or just time wasting with some extra thinking. Here at hello leaders we love websites such as:

• InsightTimer for sleep, anxiety and stress support
• This Way Up for mental health support
• Good Things Foundation for improving digital literacy skills
• The NY Times for free games like Wordle or Sudoku
• Duolingo for learning new languages
• TEDEd for courses and learning through Ted Talks

As always, those websites are just starting points! A great way to collaborate and connect with employees is to have them share inspirational websites, or social media accounts, so others can use their travel time to learn and grow.