Changing work and work-related travel and the impact of Covid-19

Chatterjee, Kiron; Crawford, Fiona

Abstract

The nature of work was undergoing dramatic change before the pandemic as the digital age continued to transform all sectors of society. In this paper we describe pre-pandemic trends in types of work, the workforce and working arrangements in the UK. We show how these changes were having gradual yet significant impacts on commuting and other work-related travel which were apparent in national travel data series. Key features of these impacts were increasing diversification and flexibility in work travel. We bring together findings on how working practices and travel have been altered by the pandemic and report expectations and opinions on its longer-term legacies. The pandemic has accelerated pre-pandemic trends and led to a shift in how work is performed for almost all sectors of the economy – but grasping the opportunity for this to contribute to deep carbon reductions from transport and to improve equity and health outcomes will require carefully directed policy interventions.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 13, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Sep 1, 2021
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2021
• Deposit Date: Aug 31, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 2, 2022
• Journal: Built Environment
• Print ISSN: 0263-7960
• Publisher: Alexandrine Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 47
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 336-354
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.2148/benv.47.3.336
• Keywords: commuting; business travel; work-related travel; working patterns; Covid-19; working from home; teleworking; flexible working
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7722275
• Publisher URL: https://www.alexandrinepress.co.uk/built-environment