As cities begin to roll back quarantine orders, employers have begun thinking about how they’re going to have their employees return to the office. This is no easy task! There are so many factors that go into safely having any number of employees return to the office, from how they’re going to get there to how you’re going to rearrange the physical office setup.

Companies have recently begun putting their return-to-work plans together for when quarantine restrictions are lifted. That means figuring out how employees are going to commute, how many employees will be coming back right away, and which resources will be needed to make the return as smooth as possible.

We’ve recently been writing about how commutes are going to be altered after quarantine orders are lifted. The way most people travel is going to be different. We’ve been hearing about big pushes for biking and walking to work for more sustainable and safer commutes. 

When the times come to make our way back into the office, commutes will be changed. Many people will be weary of the crowded, confined spaces of public transit in the beginning. Don’t get us wrong, we’re not discounting the importance public transit will play in the transition back. We’re saying it will take time for your employees to feel comfortable riding face-to-face with other commuters.

We know it’s not possible for everyone to give up their car for their commute, especially for employees who live and/or work in more suburban areas without access to robust public transit systems. But there’s still a way to limit your number of daily drivers coming to the office.

We’ve written about New York City plenty of times before. For good reason! There are nearly nine million people living in the city, commuting every day. The New York City subway system is also one of the largest systems in the world, moving more than four million riders per day. Safe to say, commuting has a major impact on the day-to-day for a lot of people.

Employee benefits may only come to mind for your employees once a year when they have to re-enroll in a new health plan. Unlike health benefits, however, commuter benefits can be updated at any time throughout the year to accommodate behavior change and shifts in habits.  That means you need to make sure they think about how their commuter benefits are working for them, and help them make changes throughout the year.