Commuters, Employers Deal With Gas Prices
Accountant Paula Luft recently turned down three jobs, one of them an ideal assignment 18 miles from her home, before accepting a position 11/2 miles away.
The Arlington Heights resident can bike to work without breaking a sweat. In good weather she cycles home for lunch.
“I always said, ‘If there’s a good position I’ll drive to it,’ ” she said. “But with gas prices the way they are now, it’s ridiculous. I think we need to draw a circle around where we’re willing to commute.”
As prices climb to historic highs, Luft may be the leading edge of an era that will reorder priorities for commuters and employers alike, experts say.
Forty-four percent of professionals in a recent survey said they had altered their commutes because of higher gas prices, up from 34 percent a year earlier, according to staffing firm Robert Half International. Nearly as many said they were looking for a new job closer to home as said they were driving more fuel-efficient cars or telecommuting more often.
“Only now are people starting to think about what they ought to do differently than what they’ve done before,” said University of Illinois finance professor Don Fullerton, a former U.S. Treasury Department deputy assistant secretary. “There’s lots of different choices people can make to adjust to the new higher gas price regime.”
For instance, employers can subsidize moving costs for people who want to live closer to work, he said.
So far, employers are opting for more conventional strategies: raising mileage reimbursement rates, offering telecommuting, public transit discounts, carpool assistance and gas cards, according to a recent survey by the Society of Human Resource Management.
Photo by mcleod.
danakeith on June 13th, 2008 7:58 am
prices climb is a continues matter nowadays, if i were happen to have owned a car, i’d rather commute than to spend money for gas, in that way.. fare is much cheaper.
cassy on June 13th, 2008 8:54 pm
Good topic.
I think also the best thing to do to save gas today is make a list and plan your daily trip, like if you go shopping for grocery everyday make it weekly so you can save gas and of course money but if you really wanted to save more money.. then biking and commuting is the best plus you can exercise by biking.
I know how hard and uncomfortable compare using your own car but hey it’s the reality now all getting high prices, I hope and wish government have power and ideas how to turn down the GAS Prices but oh well just a wishful thinking but I doubt it will happen.
grace on June 15th, 2008 3:31 am
it’s better to ride in your bike rather than your car if you’re near at your work. it’s because of the gas price, by time goes by, the gas price go bigger and bigger that makes more people wants to commute. walking, biking and also commuting will push you through your big expenses.
Stuart Ross on June 17th, 2008 11:48 am
I think working from home is the answer….
We all have the potential to do it
;-)
Stuart Ross
Who The Heck?
http://www.WhoisStuartRoss.com
aullman on July 26th, 2008 3:38 pm
The examples stated in this article demonstrate why companies need to start considering new work arrangements for employees. Telecommuting and Remote Office Centers give workers the ability to live anywhere and work anywhere. Remote Office Centers lease individual offices, internet and phone systems to workers in shared centers that are usually located in the suburbs.
Most workers already work on computer systems that are hosted at some remote center. If does not really matter where the office is located, as long as it is secure, reliable and meets the needs of the employer and the employee. Home Office and Remote Office Centers give employees and employers more options and allow companies to hire the best employee regardless of where the employee lives. This is a competitive advantage for the employer.
Pouya on September 10th, 2008 1:55 am
Good topic.
I think also the best thing to do to save gas today is make a list and plan your daily trip, like if you go shopping for grocery everyday make it weekly so you can save gas and of course money but if you really wanted to save more money.. then biking and commuting is the best plus you can exercise by biking.
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