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Should checking emails on the commute count as 'working hours'?

Victoria Dmochowski

Who checks their emails while travelling to and from work? I occasionally check my work calendar to refresh my memory of what's in store for the day but as I walk / scoot / cycle to work, dealing with emails has not become a habit for me.

Checking emails before getting to work can help people get ahead of the day or catch-up with what they missed by the end of it. If this is something your workforce regularly did, would you consider making the commute part of their working hours?

A researcher has said that the boundaries between home and work are being blurred due to improved internet access on trains but commuters say they like to have the time to transition between home and work: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-45333270

What do you think? Could it lead to better work-life balance or increased stress and low productivity?

 

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  • I've certainly 'allocated' my commute in the past as working time - in reality, just a mental exercise rather than a clocking-in/clocking-out, but when I know I need the time, half an hour on the train can be very useful to achieve certain non-confidential tasks. When my children were younger, and less prone to be staring at a screen themselves in the evening, I felt this was a better compromise than working in the evenings.

    The other thing I've done is used my commute as study time in the past - I was doing my law qualifications, and the only way I could manage the commitment was to allocate a certain amount of reading/prep to each of my journeys. It was exhausting, but fortunately not for too long!
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  • I've certainly 'allocated' my commute in the past as working time - in reality, just a mental exercise rather than a clocking-in/clocking-out, but when I know I need the time, half an hour on the train can be very useful to achieve certain non-confidential tasks. When my children were younger, and less prone to be staring at a screen themselves in the evening, I felt this was a better compromise than working in the evenings.

    The other thing I've done is used my commute as study time in the past - I was doing my law qualifications, and the only way I could manage the commitment was to allocate a certain amount of reading/prep to each of my journeys. It was exhausting, but fortunately not for too long!
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