What impact is your commute having on your health

Peter du ToitI'm the founder of FutureWork IQ where I spend my time assisting businesses to improve their climate literacy so as to understand the projected impacts from the expanding climate crisis and how to adapt their workplaces in the face of these impacts.

A few days ago on LinkedIn I shared this post on the “return to work” highway traffic in Johannesburg.

In the post comments people shared how much of their time is wasted sitting in traffic and how tired and stressed they felt when arriving at work. The health impacts from having to commute everyday are documented.

The list is an eye opener and we should be asking how can this be okay given that we already have the technology and the know-how to end an office commute for millions of people?

From a Time piece 10 Things Your Commute Does to Your Body:

Your blood sugar rises
Your cholesterol is higher
Your depression risk rises
Your anxiety increases
Your happiness and life satisfaction decline
Your blood pressure temporarily spikes
Your blood pressure rises over time as well
Your cardiovascular fitness drops
Your sleep suffers
Your back aches

Surely it’s time for companies to design workplaces that allow for flexible anywhere work?

The human health cost is real. The environmental impact is real. We really need to work smarter!