Czechs Less Willing to Commute to Work Than Ever Before

30% of Czech people are dissatisfied with their work because of the length of their commute, which is 7% more than last year. With the increasing number of job opportunities in the city, the willingness to commute to work is decreasing.

According to a survey by Grafton Recruitment, even if the job offer was much more interesting or offered higher wages, two-thirds of Czech people say that they would not want to work further away from home because of the commute. This survey was carried out by Behaviolabs.com with 1123 respondents. 

“As the number of job vacancies has increased and the fact that we have the lowest unemployment rates in the EU, naturally, Czech people are now far less willing to commute or move for work.  Time spent travelling to work is becoming an increasingly important factor when considering employment,” said Grafton Recruitment marketing manager Jitka Součková. Czechs would prefer to travel for a maximum of 30 minutes, and only one-fifth of survey respondents said they were willing to have a longer commute. Employers looking for new workers should be targeting this group, as these are the people who are most open to change if they receive an adequate job offer. 

A long commute can only be offset by a large wage increase. For example, a job offer with a 60-minute commute will only be as attractive to most people as a job offer with a 30-minute commute if the wages offered are at least a fifth higher. The current situation of the labour market does not record the willingness of Czech people to move for work.

According to the survey, 31% of respondents have to commute a long distance, with the highest proportion in this group being college students. The most common reasons for agreeing to a long commute are better wages and more interesting work. Better wage conditions are a very important factor. However, people also want to gain new experiences and find good work in their field, which is equally important in terms of agreeing to a longer commute, Součková added. 

In terms of distance, in 57% of cases, the respondents have to commute to another region within the Czech Republic, and 31% have moved abroad for work in the past.

However, two-thirds of Czech people would not accept a more attractive job offer with better wage conditions if it meant that they had to relocate. Although 40% of Czech people have declared an interest in moving abroad for work, the reality is different. Only 31% of people in the past have travelled or moved abroad.

Higher wages are one of the most common motives for doing so. People often see moving abroad as an opportunity to get better money for the same hard work, Součková said.

However, undergraduates are more likely to have this motivation, and young people under the age of 34 are more likely to take the opportunity to learn a foreign language and consider the possibility of living abroad.

Author: Holly Webb

Photo: profimedia.cz