[Dominisi]

For me, its all about the commute. Just do the math.

1-Hour commute time both ways: 21.8 Days a year you are spending commuting to/from work.

3-fucking-weeks of time, poof, gone.

I'll get my social interaction else where for 3 weeks of my life back. Thanks.

[ianai]

Yes and if you have a disagreement with said external friends it is highly unlikely to affect your professional life.

[mym1990]

While commuting is time-inefficient activity, if you let all 22 days a year disappear...thats on you. There are plenty of things to do in a car ride, train ride, bus ride, walk that are not 'poof, gone' uses of time.

[Bedon292]

If you are driving to work the most you can do during that drive is listen to a podcast, news, or book on tape. Stuff I can already do at home doing other things too. But have to deal with things like someone just cut you off, and now you just forgot what was happening and need to rewind. It is far from a productive time period. Without having to commute I have a lot more time to do things that are much more valuable to me.

[mym1990]

I think most of the people missed my point. I didn't say commuting was a productive time, but it doesn't have to be a complete waste either. Sure, some days people are groggy or feel like zoning out on the commute, cool. But I feel like if 100% of the days are like that, and you actively complain about it...there is something that can change.

[decafninja]

Usually that time is "spent" either on:

1. Catching up on lost sleep because I had to wake up early to waste that time on commuting to the office.

2. Being wasted from a tiring day at work and not in any mood to do anything "productive" on transit, which itself further adds to fatigue and exhaustion.

As a bonus, you also get to roll the dice on whether you even get to sit. Whether it's 30 minutes or 90 minutes, holding onto a bar or strap stuffed into a metal container like sardines takes another huge mental and physical toll. Arrive at the office already tired and wasted, and arrive back home even more tired and wasted.

[mym1990]

Yes, there are many people in situations where there is a constant domino effect of negative stressors that prevent being in a 'productive commuting mood'(having a baby for example, disorders, disabilities). But if you're in a perpetual state of exhaustion from mainly your job and 30 minutes on a train is putting you in the ground, I would go on a limb and say you're not just wasting the 22 days, you're wasting a whole lot more than that.

[decafninja]

In my particular case, it's a 45-60 minute bus ride + a 20-30 minute subway ride. Odds are that I'm much more likely to be standing than sitting, so it is definitely not an enjoyable or relaxing experience.

The only way I can avoid it is to leave home much earlier (see my earlier comment about losing sleep because of the commute as it is) and/or leave work much later.

Or move closer to work at the cost of much higher housing expenses for a place that is smaller and older.

Or - something which I'm trying to do - leave for an entirely different metropolitan area. I've had ex-coworkers and friends who've left the Manhattan commuting hellhole for the SFBA and tell me their commutes are a heavenly 15-30 minute relaxing drive now.

[throw14082020]

Don't put the blame on them. There are plenty of reasons why it might suck: having to drive the car (and pay for it) to get to work, which also adds to the stress. Taking the train (depending on where you live) might also be uncomfortable: risk of dirt, disease, smell, and risk of assault when commuting home after working late. Cycling late at night might also increase the risk of accidents.

[mym1990]

There are also plenty of reasons it might not suck too. A negative spin can be put on any situation, and I agree that not everyone has a posh commute in a nice car, or in a nice part of town, or on a nice rail line.

But the way I see it is that you have two choices: you can change the situation or you can change your outlook on it. Sometimes you can do the first one, but it doesn't always work out. At this point you should look to do the second one. If you don't do either, well I guess you can wait for a covid situation to do the changing for you.

Also, cycling absolutely increases the risk of accidents...doing almost anything at night increases the risk of something going wrong. I don't see how that point plays into anything. If my ride home is 30 minutes and I need to stay focused not to crash, then I ride attentively and consider it a workout. Yay I just worked out 22 extra days a year.

[raziel2701]

Nah let's fight for structural change instead of timidly complying and listening to podcasts while we become traffic and lose 22 days a year.

[mym1990]

Also seems like you missed the point. I said nothing about the future of work and fighting or not fighting for different standards.

I'm glad you think that people who choose to listen to podcasts during transportation experiences are timidly complying with the world though, seems accurate.