Price of Gas Takes Toll on Employee Loyalty, Finds TransitCenter Study

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via MassTransitMag:



Price of Gas Takes Toll on Employee Loyalty, Finds TransitCenter Study


Business Wire
via NewsEdge Corp.


NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 21, 2008--Rising fuel prices and worsening traffic are driving 26 percent of employees to consider changing jobs to improve their commutes, reports a study conducted by BusinessWeek Research Services (BWRS) and commissioned by TransitCenter, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides tax-free transit benefits as a means to promote mass transit use. The survey, entitled, ?The Impact of Commuting on Employees,? finds that 48 percent of employees say their commute is getting worse. The increased frustration is building a bigger appetite for commute-focused relief in the workforce. Indeed, 65 percent of employees say they expect their companies to step up and take the lead in easing their commuting difficulties.

?Three years ago the price of gas wasn?t considered an HR issue,? said Larry Filler, president and CEO of TransitCenter. ?Today, it?s starting to take its toll on employee loyalty and becoming a serious concern.? The study also found that nearly a quarter, or 24 percent of employees, say they?re late to work at least three times a month because of traffic, a drain on workplace productivity.

Geography is now a critical factor in the level of employee willingness to change jobs, according to the TransitCenter survey findings. Nearly one of three (31 percent) people who live in the suburbs or rural areas and travel to jobs in the city say they?re willing to consider taking another job to improve their commute. And nearly one in two employees (46 percent) who live in the city and reverse-commute, would also consider a new job for a better commute. When asked what commuter-related benefits would be most attractive in their new jobs, employees cite flextime (79 percent), telecommuting (72 percent), pre-tax commuter benefits (54 percent), and subsidies for their pre-tax commuter benefits (47 percent).

The study polled 1,048 respondents in Chicago, New York and San Francisco in October 2007. These cities were chosen due to their geographically dispersed markets and high concentration of commuters as identified by the U.S. Census? 2005 American Community Survey. The survey has a 95 percent confidence level with a margin of error of +/- 3 percent. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.masstransitmag.com/online/article.jsp?siteSection=3&id=6555