A Tenth of Engineers Have to Work While They Commute

June 3, 2013 - PRLog -- A tenth (11%) of engineers say they would not be able to perform their job effectively unless the worked while they commuted each day according to specialist recruiter Randstad Construction Property & Engineering.  

The research of over 2,000 Brits on commuting habits across different employment sectors found that a tenth of engineers have to work while they travel.  In 2008, just one in twenty  engineers (4.5%) said they worked while they commuted.

The engineering sector currently faces a skills shortage due to a combination of low graduate numbers, and demand from overseas for UK engineering talent. This shortage has put strain on those engineers employed in the UK and is resulting in an increased pressure to work while on the move

Across the engineering sector, 17% of workers feel they could work while they commute but choose not to .  

Owen Goodhead, managing director of Randstad Construction Property & Engineering, said: “Engineers are some of the most spread thin professionals in the UK workforce. Having to do more with less resource has increased staff workloads and left engineers feeling they are working the equivalent of a seven and a half day week. It’s little wonder there has been a rise in the number of working while they travel. Being able to relax and unwind at home is vital for the long-term health of the profession. Engineers extending their work-day into travel time enables them to get additional work done without it leaking too much into their work/life balance.”

Commuting Times
Engineers also have some of the longest average daily commuting times and distances compared to any other industry. On average, engineers travel a total of 21.4 miles a day. This is higher than the wider UK average of 18.5 miles. The average time spent commuting each day by engineers currently stands at under 47 minutes – six minutes more than the UK average of 41 minutes.  

The distance that engineers travel each day has risen over the last five years, up from an average of 18 miles per day in 2008. Despite longer distances, the average time spent commuting each day by engineers has stayed relatively stable over the last five years with a slight fall from 48 minutes in 2008 to 47 minutes now.

Owen Goodhead, said: “The rise in average daily commuting distances suggests the demand for particular skills among engineers is causing them to travel further each day. However, the drop in commute time suggests engineers are using faster, and potentially more expensive, methods of transport to travel. Along with the demand of travelling further to and from work each day, engineers are increasingly clocking on while commuting in order to do their job effectively. Employers must be careful though and ensure their staff are not overworking. Burnout among employees is a real danger and can lead avoidable long-term disruption. Ensuring staff receive support during particularly busy periods will help relieve some of the pressure currently being felt by many.”

Modes of Transport

Nearly two thirds of engineers (62%) in the UK commute by car, while one in five (19%) choose to travel by train, bus or underground. One in twenty (6%) walk to work.  

Owen Goodhead, said: “Engineers are not always travelling to the most public transport friendly locations and so driving is the obvious choice for many. For those that drive or walk each day, working is not always possible. If so many didn’t have to travel under their own steam we might see that number of engineers working while on the move each day rise even further.”  

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About

Randstad CPE (http://www.randstad.co.uk/cpe/) is part of the Randstad group, one of the leading recruitment & HR services providers in the world with a top five position in the UK and a top three position in fifteen countries including the US, France and Germany.

In the UK, Randstad’s business lines serve the public and private sectors across Accounting and Financial services; Business Support; Construction, Property and Engineering; Education; Health and Social Care; Interim Management and Search; Human Resources; IT; Legal; Retail; Sales, Student and Worker Support and In-House and Managed Services.

At the end of 2012, Randstad had 1,750 corporate employees in the UK, working in 203 locations. UK revenue in 2012 was €799 million. Randstad Holding nv was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Diemen, the Netherlands and listed on the NYSE Euronext Amsterdam. For more information see randstad.co.uk  and randstad.com.

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