50% of Malaysian staff work during their daily commute

Workers in Malaysian appear to get a surprising amount of work done during their commute to and from work.

As the time taken between the home and the office continues to increase, more than half of employees are likely to keep busy with emails (52.8%) and reading important documents (43.3%).

They are also more likely to access professional social media websites during this time (35.4%).

According to a study by Regus, this increase in work-related productivity during the commute could stem from the fact that travel times are increasing - by five minutes each way since 2012.

The average one way commute now takes over half an hour (32.5 minutes), compared to 27 minutes two years ago, which adds up to more than an hour spent travelling for work each day.

And if they're not working, your employees are most likely to be making telephone calls (74.8%), listening to music (56.7%), and catching up on the day’s news (55.9%).

However, any travel during the day - such as to and from a meeting - tends to be more productive and work-focused, found the study.

RELATED READ: 6 ways to make your commute work for you

"Although the daily commute represents a productivity drain, workers are keeping active on their portable devices and focusing on catching up on some leisure activities such as listening to music while they travel," said Vijayakumar Tangarasan, country manager at Regus Malaysia.

"Nevertheless, people would ideally like to be able to work in a professional, discreet environment, near to home or to wherever their business takes them, so that their commuting time is shorter and their productivity can be maximised."

These views seemed to match those of Singapore employees as well, who expressed a need to work at a prestigious location (22%) to get work done.

Proximity to transport links (64%) or a car park (26%) were more important to them, pointing to a desire to simplify their daily commute.

Image: Shutterstock