Friday afternoon was frustrating. I sat in traffic and wondered why I chose that route. I had been sitting there for 30 minutes and had only gone maybe 4 miles 5 miles. I was returning to my office in Plano from a client tour in Uptown, but it got me to thinking about a company's office location in relation to commutes.
How does or should traffic factor into where companies office? It really should factor in a big way because the amount of time you spend a car is usually at the expense of work time or personal time - neither of which are good trade offs.
Sacrificing work time for the commute is an obvious one because it can cost the company real money. Sacrificing personal time may not be a concern of companies, but as you consider it a little further, you know that employee morale and happiness can be affected by their commute which can affect their performance at the office.
The main thing I recommend is to make sure that you've considered the commute of everybody in the office and not just that of the decision-maker. While the owner or top manager could just move the office close to his/her home, ultimately it's the commute of everyone in the office that will determine the productivity of the company.
You may also need to consider the commute of your customers to your office, if you have customers coming to the office that is. If they have to drive too far or can't understand how to get there, they may go somewhere else. Better that employees and owners have to commute than customers.
Bottom line, be sure to consider the commute not just from a convenience perspective, but from a dollar and cents perspective.
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