The end to the Southern Rail strikes is not looking imminent. Around 300,000 passengers use Southern services each day (many of whom are commuting into London). So we started to think about some of the positives of not travelling by train to work if you are one of the hundreds of thousands affected, which should hopefully reduce your stress levels.

Avoiding germs

The average office desk is home to 400 times more bacteria than in a toilet!

We all know that germs (bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms) can be picked up anywhere and everywhere. They spread in all sorts of ways, but particularly via invisible droplets when people near to you talk, cough and sneeze. At this time of year when cold and flu viruses are particularly prevalent, working at home away from public transport and a shared desk can be really good for your health!

More time at home with your family

The number of workers who commute daily for two hours or more has increased by a third in five years, a study revealed. The increase has mostly been driven by soaring house prices and stagnant wages. If you can work from home or can move closer to your place of work, you should have more quality time with your friends or family.

Late to rise early to bed

If you can work at home – it goes without saying – you can have an early night and a lie-in in the morning.

Increase productivity

If it takes you hours to get to work and back each day, then you could be spending that time being more productive doing work.

Getting fitter

You might want to use your free two hours getting fitter by visiting the gym, going for a walk, or doing an exercise class.

Save money on coffee and pastries

Londoners spend around a whopping £2,000 every year on those ‘must have’ items for their journeys such as coffee, pastries and crisps, according to research from AMEX. Even if you cut your spending down by 50% – think what you could buy with the money you save.

Making the most of conference calls

These days, more and more of us are working with remote colleagues, clients, suppliers and partners. With the daily commute for some of us in meltdown, now is a great time to make more of online conferencing tools and facilities such as GoToMeeting, Skype for Business and Zoom.

Affordable Meeting Rooms

And there’s good news for the Office end of the call; a good quality video meeting system for a small/medium room can be set up for less than £3,000 (less if you already have a large screen display) which will be returned in increased productivity in no time (especially if the strikes continue!)

For further information, or to make an enquiry, call us on+44 (0)1992 878312, or please fill in the form on our contact page and we will call you.