New research by DS Automobiles finds that almost two thirds (65 percent) of UK motorists who now work from home miss their former commute.
A change in working patterns following the pandemic means many people no longer need to attend offices for work. However, this has impacted drivers in unexpected ways.
Three quarters (75 percent) of those surveyed said they found their commute had helped them manage their work-life balance.
Almost one fifth (18 percent) said they missed the chance to ‘decompress’ during their commute home, while close to a third (29 percent) claimed the drive had allowed them to ‘switch off’ after work.
No more car-share karaoke
The regular commute allowed around one third (30 percent) of those surveyed to take time for themselves. More than half (51 percent) said they missed the chance to listen to the radio or news, and 19 percent admitted the chance to sing out loud was a bonus of commuting.
Notably, more than one-in-five of those questioned for the survey (22 percent) admitted they did not believe they would miss commuting until they actually stopped doing it.
The survey did uncover some benefits of not commuting, though. A quarter (25 percent) said they were now able to spend more time with their family, while 21 percent were able to go to the gym.
One third (33 percent) now break up their day by getting out of the house before work, a similar proportion (32 percent) use any free time gained by not commuting for sleep, while 29 percent scroll through social media.
Time lost to switching off
Jules Tilstone, managing director of DS Automobiles UK, said: “All drivers have struggled to get up early to get to work on time, or have got stuck in traffic, but actually, as the research shows, people are missing that time spent in their car. Whether it’s something as simple as listening to a podcast during the drive, the commute gave people the time to do that and switch off.”
The DS Automobiles survey highlighted the main positives those surveyed took from their daily commute. The top 10 benefits are:
- Having time to myself
- Listening to the radio
- Listening to the news
- Listening to my own playlist
- Listening to podcasts
- Singing out loud to songs
- It being part of my routine
- Decompress from work on my way home
- Switching off from home/family life
- Planning the day ahead in my head
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