The road network crisis in Greater Montréal has been growing steadily since the beginning of the summer. Workers as well as companies are seriously affected and are dreading back-to-school traffic. Workers are arriving on the job very late and experiencing stress, fatigue, and even irritability. Companies are facing a predicament: 46% of Montréal firms surveyed by l'Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agréés (OCRHA) said they were losing potential candidates, some of whom won't cross a bridge to get to work. Employees arriving very late and higher levels of absenteeism are contributing to loss of productivity on the job.

Local companies and the newly created Alliance pour le financement des systèmes de transports collectifs du Québec are calling on the government to take action. In the meantime, companies that quickly implement internal solutions can minimize negative impacts and even emerge from the road crisis as winners.

Telework is one such solution and is favoured by 27% of the human resource managers who responded to the OCRHA's survey. Work is a concept that is increasingly understood to mean an activity rather than a location. Some workers can be relocated closer to their residence through the use of coworking spaces. Coworking is an economical solution that is literally and figuratively midway between on-the-job work and telecommuting. Why not group together employees from the same suburb into one coworking space so they can avoid traffic congestion altogether?

 

infographics - telework and road network crisis

 

Naturally, telework has its own challenges and may not suit everyone. It is important to start off on the right foot by setting objectives and finding ways to measure performance. Once this is accomplished, a pilot project should be conducted with one manager and some eager and interested employees. As 68% of Generation Y workers are known to prefer jobs that include some telework, it might be a wise decision to use the roadwork crisis as an opportunity to implement a telework arrangement.

The kids are back to school, and traffic congestion is a reality that companies will have to face as never before. What solutions is your company considering to deal with this challenge?

 

Statistics to share

  • Traffic problems are affecting 55% of Montréal businesses >> Tweet
  • 46% of Montréal companies are losing potential candidates because of traffic congestion >> Tweet
  • 27% of HR managers favour telework as a way to reduce the impact of roadwork >> Tweet
  • 76% of teleworkers say they are more productive in a telework arrangement than at the office >> Tweet
  • 68% of Generation Y workers prefer a work arrangement that includes telework >> Tweet
  • 2 days of telework per week is the equivalent of a $3,500 salary raise >> Tweet
  • 2 days of telework per week saves 200 hours of travel time per year >> Tweet