A third annual “Costs of Commute” study, released by the pan-European location-agnostic PR agency Tyto PR, underlines the significant financial and time savings employees have benefited from during the pandemic, and the steep rise in costs commuters forced to return to the office will now face. 

 Over the course of a year, the average cost of a commute to London from a popular commuter town equates to £5,294. For PR industry specialists it costs 13.9% of the average post-tax UK PR salary.

 The average total commuting time over the year would be 558 hours, or 23 and a half full 24-hour days. Over a ten-year period, this accumulates to a full working year’s worth of time spent commuting at 232 days (excluding holidays and weekends).

In addition to the increasing costs, the average cost of wrap-around childcare for London commuters is £12.60 per day and £2,937 over the course of the year. For parents, this means that 7.7% of the employee’s net salary is spent on childcare. Travel and wrap-around childcare average costs total £8,230.

Over the course of the year, the time spent commuting is the equivalent of employees doing an average of £13,531 of unpaid overtime.

 Brendon Craigie, co-founder and CEO of Tyto, said: “We believe happier, energised, and more financially secure employees are a great thing for any industry. In our case as a PR company, we believe that the real winners are our clients because they get to work with the very best people we can attract, not just those who can afford to do a daily London commute. The savings in both time and money also ensure employees can be their best at home and at work and receive the full financial rewards of their work.”  

“In the past year due to the forced adoption of remote work, commuters have experienced an incredible boost to their financial wellbeing, as well as gaining 23 full 24-hour days of life back for themselves. Prior to the pandemic, the PR industry lagged the most innovative sectors in its glacial adoption of remote work.

Beyond the personal benefits to individuals, remote models have also allowed us to be much more thoughtful in how we can bring career opportunities to those who cannot or do not want to do a London commute or live in the capital. It’s crucial that PR leaders build upon this momentum and we don’t allow our industry to slip back into its conservative ways.”