Flexible working hours suit them

Dubai: Sitting in traffic at 6am every morning and wishing you were in bed is not a good start to the day.

Wouldn't it save you more time if you were able to start work at any time of the day? Gulf News readers say that flexible working hours would reduce commuting time and thus make life a little simpler.

Arif Khan, a Pakistani residing in Dubai, takes two hours to go to and from work every day. He said: "I spend around Dh600 every month on petrol, Salik, parking fees and traffic fines. It is quite a lot of money."

Khan believes that working hours should be split between customer-related businesses, such as banks, and industries, as it would separate the traffic throughout the day.

Khan, an IT professional, thinks it is best for people in his profession to work from home. He said: "We work through computers and e-mails so our presence in the office does not make a difference."

Distractions

Areej Juma, a baker who works in Dubai, feels that it is convenient to work from home. She said: "The only time I need to go out is when I need ingredients. It takes me an hour to drive around every time and the petrol used in my car costs Dh40 every week." However, from Areej's experience, whatever time you save on commuting, you might end up wasting because of distractions at home.

Areej, a Canadian, said: "There are so many things at home that keep you from working that you might not be very productive after all."

T. K. Thaju, an Indian residing in Dubai, goes to work in two ways. The first is riding the Dubai Metro, which takes four minutes. However, the 10-minute walk to work is unpleasant.

When it is too hot, Thaju takes the bus, which drops him right next to his work. All these do not cost him much. He said: "My monthly transportation comes to around Dh80 a month."

Thaju added that flexible working hours would decrease commute time, but it does not look like he will experience it. He said: "Having flexible working hours would even out traffic during the day, as not everyone would leave to go to work at the same time."

How much time and money do you spend commuting every year? Would you change your commuting habits to cut costs? How do you deal with the strain of lengthy and stressful travel?