With more companies embracing hybrid work, what it takes to live and work in separate places is changing
When VIA Rail and various officials were in town earlier this month to announce a slate of renovations planned for the London train station, it was instead the announcement of the planned return of early morning London-to-Toronto commuter run (which gets you into Toronto before 9 a.m. and home to London by 7 p.m.) that stole the show ― enough to elicit “hooting and cheering” from the assembled audience that interrupted the rest of the announcement.
While the return of the route is popular for a bunch of reasons, one segment of the population is particularly pleased ― the hybrid workers needing to make an appearance in a GTA office a couple times a week.
These folks are part of a growing contingent of “super-commuters,” defined as those with a commute longer than 90 minutes. And lately, they’ve who been more openly embracing their long commutes and sharing them on TikTok. Hybrid work schedules opened the possibility for some workers to move further afield, live somewhere lower-cost while keeping their big-city job (and salary), with the main trade-off being a long ― but not always unpleasant ― commute.
“Personally I love it,” one Philadelphia-to-New-York-City super-commuter told WorkLife. “I love seeing my coworkers, talking to them, just having human interaction. And I find myself being really productive and it’s a fun environment to be in.” (In the U.S., where cheaper flight options are more available, some are even flying multiple states over to make it to work.)
And interestingly, as Ontario looks ahead to staffing some of the marquee electric vehicle plants, some believe that embracing super-commutes could be a key component. “Canada has a lot of the skilled workers trained up and ready to meet the demand, they just aren’t in the right places,” said the head of the staffing agency Blue Branch, Todd Clyde. “Blue Branch has found that super-commuting can help address the labour shortage. As many as 32 per cent of unemployed Canadians are willing to super commute or move to another province for work. They just need help overcoming the hurdles, including housing and transportation, to get there.”
So, when the early morning train returns, don’t be surprised if there are plenty of white-collar workers filling out the seats, noted local MP Peter Fragiskatos. “(Microsoft) Teams and Zoom, as helpful as they are, are no substitute for one-on-one, in-person interaction, particularly for those in the business community who have to have those relationships.”
Content written by Kieran Delamont for Worklife, a partnership between Ahria Consulting and London Inc. To view this content in newsletter form, click here.