Gas Price Gouge Leads to Employee Behavior Changes

August 7, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Employers responding to a recent survey by Jackson Lewis LLP see a change in workday behavior of employees due to soaring gas prices.

More than half of employers surveyed (53%) reported an increased number of employees staying at their workstations or remaining on the premises and using the Internet or e-mail for personal purposes during lunch and other breaks, according to a Jackson Lewis press release. Half of respondents said employees appear to spend less time away from the workplace during breaks to run personal errands.

Forty-seven percent of respondents reported difficulty recruiting candidates who live in areas from which previous candidates and current employees have been willing to commute, and nearly the same percentage (46%) said they have experienced an increase in the rate of employee requests for telecommuting, job sharing or flexible scheduling arrangements during the past 12 months.

Jackson Lewis said its survey found that employers realize they need to be flexible during these hard economic times as 44% of respondents said they offer a transportation subsidy or pre-tax reimbursement program to employees to offset the costs of commuting, and an additional 28% said they have considered implementing such a program.

Jackson Lewis surveyed more than 100 employers in New York’s metropolitan commuter areas.

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