ANALYSIS
Work-life balance
Beating the early-morning rush By Sumathi V Selvaretnam Singapore companies are looking at new ways to help their employees beat peak-hour morning congestion. Some 12 organisations have come on board a Land Transport Authority initiative that encourages employees to travel to work during off-peak hours. Called TravelSmart, the initiative aims to reduce morning peak hour congestion on trains by at least 1015%. TravelSmart consultants are working with participating organisations to find the best means of avoiding the early morning rush, through alternatives such as staggered office hours and telecommuting. Incentives under the scheme include a 50-cent discount for train travel before 7.45am. The government is also studying the feasibility of raising the discount to $1 or even offering the ride for free, Transport Minister Lui Tuck Yew told Parliament recently. Law firm Rajah and Tann joined the TravelSmart Scheme when it discovered employees were being negatively affected by crowded trains and traffic jams. “It takes a longer time to reach the office during the peak hours as compared to travelling to work before 8am,” Koay Saw Lean, Director of HR, Rajah and Tann, tells HRM. Consultants from TravelSmart have been assisting Rajah and Tan by sharing information gathered from surveys. “We were able to better understand the travel patterns that affect our employees,” says Koay. To create awareness on commuting initiatives and discounts, Rajah and Tann has provided Intranet links to Travel Smart initiatives, including the early travel discount and the Park & Ride scheme. In addition, the firm has included several health and environmentfriendly messages on its forum page to educate employees. “It is all about changing mindsets among our lawyers, staff, and their supervisors and educating them on how they can benefit physically by arriving early to work, and financially from discounts provided through TravelSmart’s initiatives,” Koay says. Accounting firm Ernst & Young feels that TravelSmart is in line with its own vision of building a
Plans to decrease congestion • Raising the off-peak travel discount in the morning from $0.50 to $1.00, or making the ride totally free • Six more city direct buses • Bus Lanes to be increased by 30km and the mandatory Give Way to Buses scheme to be extended by 150 more bus stops
Workplace of the Future – a trust-based and collaborative work environment. “We feel that there is an opportunity to review how our policies can be adapted to encourage and empower our people to work more flexibly and productively while minimising the need for peak hour commuting,” Max Loh, Country Managing Partner, Ernst & Young LLP, tells HRM. Through assistance from TravelSmart, Ernst & Young has undertaken a staff survey to gauge sentiments and preferences for smarter commuting. “We have also worked with them to conduct focus groups with our various business units, so as to assess and review, with the intention to pilot measures such as staggered office hours and increased use of telecommuting.” However, the challenge is in effecting policy and behavioral changes while ensuring that productivity and quality of work are not compromised, says Loh. To support the scheme, Ernst & Young offers fruit to staff who arrive early. “We have noted improvements in the arrival time. Our next initiative is to introduce free breakfast for the earlybirds who arrive before 8am,” Loh says. The efforts seem to be paying off. Employees at Rajah and Tann are now more conscious about how they can save on transport expenses by reaching the office earlier. “We have noted an increase in the awareness and queries on the flexible work arrangement options that are available in the firm,” Koay says. According to market research by LTA, there is still scope to shift travel patterns by further engaging employers to facilitate the off-peak travel of their employees. “For example, some commuters said that they would leave home for work earlier or work from home if workplace conditions permitted them to do so. Some others have not made the change because they cannot leave their office early even if they arrive to work earlier,” says Mr Lew Yii Der, Group Director for Corporate Planning and Research, LTA. ISSUE 13.4
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