TRAVELLING TO THE WORKPLACE

People of all ages travel to different places explore, visit friends and for leisure activities. However, there is an essential aspect of travelling to the workplace. Work demands most people to work from an office desk on specific days and work on other projects in different environments. Travelling calls for scheduled time to observe punctuality. However, travelling means may be hindered by different circumstances but calls for the ability to adapt. Travelling also offers an opportunity to explore different means of transport and explore new areas enabling them to be all around.

 My working place culture has a positive corporate culture. The working day begins at 8:30 in the morning, so everyone has to arrive earlier to keep up with the working schedule. Men and women work for long hours without complaining as we value hard work and productivity at work. The organization has come up with a program to reduce employees’ sedentary behaviours. The organization values its assets, the employees, hence the development of this program to reduce the risk of chronic diseases (Taylor et al., 2018) of the employees which are brought by sitting down for long hours. Sitting down for long hours has been tested and proven to bring about obesity, type two diabetes and hypertension. They reduce the vigour of employees at work and hinder them from achieving the expected outcomes. The introduction of the program to reduce health risks has led to the creation of a positive corporate image for the organization to the members of the public. The organization at the workplace has installed electronic and adjustable sit-stand desks where it has taught us on the importance of the installation and how to adjust the while at work. The organization has also been administering questionnaires to conduct a self-report of the workplace sitting time (Taylor et al., 2018)

Travelling to the workplace is a significant challenge. The scheduled time to begin daily work is set to begin at 8:30, so I have to choose a suitable means of transport which has posed a significant challenge in the workplace. The values of the organization are punctuality, commitment and dedication, which has to be achieved by the whole team. Punctuality is a crucial issue; hence I have to incorporate a tight travelling schedule to arrive in time. Sometimes I choose to walk to my workplace to avoid traffic congestion during the rush hour. However, I arrive at work a bit exhausted, but it has been a healthy physical activity. At other times I cycle to arrive at work, but this has been exposing me to air pollution and injuries in the environment (Heinen, Panter, Mackett and Ogilvie, 2015). However, cycling enables me to focus and sharpen my wits as I take caution to prevent accidents from happening. When I exchange cycling, walking, use of trains and buses has helped me in the long term health benefits.

Travel to work culture calls for an intense schedule and commitment. The time I use in travelling looks like a waste of time. Paid work is characterized by high mobility to work to differ in different places. In the course of my working, I also attend a business trip, meetings and workshops to meet clients, attend training and participate in conferences. Travelling has resulted to lack of time for my family and other social functions. I have no control over travel to work and travel for work as these are technical pressures from the boss. Despite technological development where meetings and conferences can be attended virtually, the employer demands that we all travel to the meeting. Although travelling is a exhaustive and time consuming, I always enjoy the final outcomes.

The restrictions put in place after the outbreak of the pandemic has affected travelling in the last few months that has led to tough times due to measures put across to control the spread of the pandemic. This has significantly affected travelling to all areas which have led to tough economic time, mostly in the transport sector. The lockdown and restrictions have led to the incorporation of shifts at the workplace to reduce overcrowding in the office. The public transport sector has been worst hit by the pandemic which has resulted in a decrease in the number of passengers to carried by buses and trains. Decreasing the passengers has called for an increase in the cost of purchasing the ticket which has made me cycle to work daily to avoid public transport due to overcrowding in the buses and trains. Cycling has made it possible for me to avoid the poorly ventilated trains and buses. In a bid to observe the pandemic’s guidelines, the working place organization has opted the virtual meetings and cancelled all business trips and conferences. During cycling, I have always ensured to put on masks to avoid the virus in the atmosphere and gloves to avoid touching contaminated surfaces. 

In conclusion, travel to work and travel for work prevents one from developing lifestyle diseases, has helped me to learn the work and travel culture and adapt to the environment amidst the outbreak of a pandemic. Lastly, it has enabled me to learn on the travelling guidelines on different modes of transport. Travelling allows an individual to learn from different people and also adapt to the new environment that one had not famiarized with.  Different workplaces have different organizational cultures that focus on the well-being of employees. 

                                                                    References

Taylor, W., Suminski, R., Das, B., Paxton, R. and Craig, D., 2018. Organizational Culture and Implications for Workplace Interventions to Reduce Sitting Time Among Office-Based Workers: A Systematic Review. Frontiers in Public Health, 6.

Heinen, E., Panter, J., Mackett, R. and Ogilvie, D., 2015. Changes in mode of travel to work: a natural experimental study of new transport infrastructure. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 12(1).

Wheatley, D. and Bickerton, C., 2016. Time-use and well-being impacts of travel-to-work and travel-for-work. New Technology, Work and Employment, 31(3), pp.238-254.