🛣️ Are You A Super Commuter?

I’ve been a super commuter for a year—and I love it. A former museum director based in southwest Michigan shares why a job that requires a five-hour commute to Ohio nearly every week has improved her work-life balance.

As more employers have embraced the return to office, workers across the country have rearranged their lives to accommodate policies that require them to be in the office every week. Some employees who moved to other states during the pandemic have been reluctant to uproot their lives, opting instead to become super commuters—driving across multiple states or even flying hundreds of miles to reach their office.

Workers who are reluctant to go into the office at all—let alone do a grueling commute across time zones—might be baffled by the concept. But some people have found their super commutes are worth the hassle, allowing them to save money or accommodate family needs. The rise of hybrid work policies also seems to have made longer commutes more palatable, since employees may only be expected to make an appearance in the office two or three days a week.

My dog does this commute with me

I do not deal with a lot of traffic [or] congestion, so leaving my town is very simple. Sometimes there’s a little bit of traffic in Columbus, but the second I’m outside of [the city], it’s a combination of country highways [and] two-lane roads. Sometimes I get stuck behind a tractor. I go through Fort Wayne, Indiana, and then there’s another section that’s a whole lot of stop-and-go through a bunch of little towns. But I’ve leaned into the diversity of the drive, which is probably better for me than just getting on an open road and driving the exact same route for five hours. I listen to audiobooks pretty much nonstop in both directions—so I’m well-read these days. My dog does this commute with me, and she actually comes to the office with me.

A recent study from Stanford University found that commutes of over two hours each way have grown far more common since the pandemic, leading to a 32% increase in the share of super commuters (defined as those who travel more than 75 miles to and from work). 

Read the complete Fast Company artice BY Pavithra Mohan: https://www.fastcompany.com/91166692/ive-been-a-super-commuter-for-a-year-and-i-love-it