Sustainable commuter programs are an important tool for employers seeking to build a better workplace. Ridesharing and carpooling get a lot of attention for their positive impacts on the environment. However, they also deliver important social benefits that employers can leverage to build more positive workplace cultures. In addition, carpooling programs can help reduce employee turnover rates, improving retention and cutting down on recruitment and hiring costs.
To achieve these benefits, employers need to understand the psychological, emotional, and social shortcomings of solo driving, and how ridesharing and carpooling address them.
The downsides of driving
For many commuters, the drive to work represents a daily source of stress. Traffic congestion, time pressures, and unpredictability are all major contributors.
Researchers continue to demonstrate the toll these factors take on commuters’ mental health and wellbeing. A 2023 study by researchers at the University of Seville in Spain covered a representative sample of nearly 300 commuters. The research team found that commuters who spend more time behind the wheel were more likely to experience sleep disturbances, low mood, and work-related stress.
Commuting by car is also expensive. Gasoline prices are rising, and daily commuting causes a lot of wear and tear on vehicles, leading to increased maintenance and repair costs. The University of Seville research team found that the negative psychological and emotional impacts of solo driving increase as a commuter spends more money.
While these research results are troubling, they do offer a silver lining: they can motivate commuters to change their behavior. Employers can position ridesharing and carpooling as effective ways to solve problems that arise from solo driving. As commuters experience these benefits firsthand, they become more likely to stick with sustainable changes over the long term.
Address commute-related pain points through ridesharing and carpooling
Ridesharing and carpooling essentially exchange the isolating, stressful environment of a single-occupancy vehicle for a dynamic, shared social experience. Carpooling helps commuters form and build friendships, expand their professional networks, and reduce the many other friction points that occur over the course of a solo drive to work.
The social aspects of ridesharing and carpooling also augment the stress-relieving effects commuters experience by liberating themselves from solo driving. Commuters who carpool have more opportunities to socialize and build their personal and professional networks. This, in turn, improves collegiality in the workplace and creates the kind of positive, inclusive, and appealing work environment that makes employees happy with their jobs.
Our users also value the social aspect:
"I use Pave Commute because I want to contribute to sustainability and hope no longer have to bike alone 😄"
“I love using Pave Commute cause it means I get a singing buddy on my way to work. It’s also one less car on the road causing pollution - every bit helps!”
Engage employees and improve workplace culture through ridesharing and carpooling support
Recent research from the University of California, Berkeley shows that ridesharing and carpooling reduce stress while boosting employee morale and productivity. Its morale-boosting benefits are particularly important, given increased recognition of the important role commuter support plays in employee recruitment and retention.
A long-established body of research shows that happy employees are more productive and less likely to quit. For businesses, this delivers a double-sided advantage: productivity improvements support a better bottom line, while lower quit rates help employers save on the high costs of recruitment.
Ridesharing and carpooling programs foster the kind of employee engagement that defines a positive workplace. For employers, they represent an easy, cost-effective way to make the working environment more social, inclusive, and fun, and more openly focused on sustainability and good citizenship.
Launch a ridesharing and carpooling program in minutes with Pave Commute
The award-winning Pave Commute App makes it quick and easy for employers to launch ridesharing and carpooling programs. Loaded with commuter-side convenience features and a rich set of employer-facing data and analytics tools, Pave Commute offers a convenient, turnkey approach to commuter management.
You can launch a Pave Commute program in minutes, with just a few clicks. To get started, check out our pricing plans or get in touch to arrange a free demo of our groundbreaking software.
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