The NZ Herald has reported yet another petrol price with 91 Unleaded up to $2.12 a litre. This is not only having a spin off affect into other industries resulting in price increases across the board but is starting to affect the employment market.
From an employee perspective, when the question of what is your ideal job is asked, the first answer is invariably concerned with location. An issue which was once concerned with the cost of travel from a time perspective, is now becoming more important purely as a direct cost of living.
For an employee that spent $50 a week on petrol costs a couple of years ago they would now be paying $100 a week to get to work. If they could move to an office that was by public transport, or even better if they could gain a position just a walk from home, they could effectively save an extra $5200 a year!!!
For those employers considering an office move or looking to open a new office, consideration needs to be taken as to how accessible the premises are for your staff. I believe that if you want to attract the best talent in a competitive market the location of your office base will become key.
It will be interesting to see what employers do as petrol price increases; some possible ideas are paying bus/ferry tickets, providing scooters, incentives around car pooling etc…
At a local government level there are an opportunity to look at initiatives that encourage people to use public transport or alternative methods of transport, park and ride initiatives, not only saving money on the cost of petrol but would promote sustainability. As a student in Palmerston North the council used to fix up ‘pre-loved’ bikes and leave them around town for people to us free of charge, could this be an option?
Whatever happens, as the general population becomes savvier around saving, employees will become more focused on the cost from getting from home to work and back again. Those clever employers will be prepared and have an opportunity to differentiate themselves in the employment marketplace.
