New study shows why commuters won’t switch to a local job
PEOPLE might complain bitterly about the hardships of the daily commute to jobs in Sydney, but few would take a local job even if it was available, a new study has found. Here’s why.
Central Coast
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People might complain bitterly about the hardships of the daily commute to jobs in Sydney, but few would take a local job even if it was available, a new study has found.
A joint study by Illawarra based research company IRIS and Central Coast research company, Fusion, found that commuters had little inclination to switch to local employment because they feared the jobs would pay less and be less secure.
Iris Research chief executive Peter Watts explained the research project to a group of regional business leaders on Friday afternoon.
Mr Watts said surprisingly few commuters even bothered to look for local work partly because they believed commuting was a normal part of life on the Coast — an acceptable trade-off for enjoying the great lifestyle.
“We also found that a surprising lack of strong negative sentiment towards commuting with the overall commuting experience not being a major driver of dissatisfaction of working outside the Central Coast, Mr Watts said.
Mr Watts also said a growing trend toward workplace flexibility — such as working from home or telecommuting — made working outside of the Central Coast more tolerable and sustainable.
Mr Watts said the research was important because it showed that Central Coast employers could not just assume workers would rather work locally — and would have to look more closely at strategies to convince them to make the switch.
He said better transport and better communication connectivity were needed along with workplace flexibility if the Central Coast was to be a sustainable “vast dormitory region” supplying workers to Sydney.
Mr Watts said the research used a small sample but interviewed the participants in depth — including some while they were actually on an early morning train to Sydney.
Fifteen commuters were asked questions related to why they commuted, why they lived on the Central Coast and what would be the triggers to make them switch to local employment.
The findings were similar to another commuter survey done in the Illawarra in August.
Who was surveyed?
■ Fifteen people in total, 8 men and seven women.
■ 13 in full time employment, and two part time
■ Seven held management roles while 8 were operational
■ Eight lived in the old Wyong Shire while seven came from the former Gosford local government area.
■ Seven were car travellers and eight were train travellers
Why do people commute?
■ Better (higher) income levels
■ Income security (especially government employees)
■ Household finances/families structured on Sydney income levels
■ Career advancement/ progression / recognition/networking opportunities
■ Best job/skill match
■ It is normal for workplace colleagues to commute to work from places outside of Sydney,
so it is not out of place nor feels strange to them.
■ A natural rhythm of life for many commuters and their families
■ Passion for the job
■ More flexible work conditions (policy and technology enabled) make commuting more tolerable and sustainable
■ Sydney gives them a buzz
■ Strong cultural affinity to Sydney for some
Why do people live on the Central Coast?
■ Quality of life/ quiet lifestyle
■ Natural environment
■ Amenity
■ Affordability
■ Convenience
■ A strong sense of community
What improvements do commuters want?
■ Increase train trips to/from region
■ Increase number of carriages
■ Reliable Wi-Fi on trains
■ Shorter travel time
■ Improve road infrastructure within and out of region.
■ Encourage employers to offer morer flexible work arrangements