Is this a 'normal' commute for most people?

[Celia24]

Im struggling with current commute and can't tell if it's mainly because I got so used to work from home and need perspective!

I joined a company during lockdown and worked from home for over a year. When I joined they said I might need to come in twice a week later on (not as much as other people as I live further away as do two other colleagues). They have only just made office working mandatory a year and a half in, initially trying for more days, but there was a bit of an uproar.

So now I'm travelling in twice a week 1 hour 50-2 hours door to door and I'm already struggling. Am I being ridiculous? In my old job it was 25 mins but I loathed the job!

Whatever some people think is 'normal' doesn't really matter. No-one would do that commute by choice and it's not really worth it unless you're a high earner.

Is £30k a reasonable salary for the job? Can you ask for a pay rise? If you could get paid more and make use of your commute - you're building some fresh air and exercise in your day and make use of the long train journey to draw/read/do life admin then it's not ideal but not too bad, especially if you can use some sort of season ticket/railcard to save a little on your journey.

The other thing I'd question is the validity of going into the office 'for the sake of it' if you can effectively WFH and a lot of your work is remote calls anyway. Surely employers realise that for desk based work, presenteeism has little bearing on how productive someone is?

I'd try and negotiate better pay and conditions, make the best use of the commute time and also keep an eye out for another job closer to home.

I used to do a two hour commute into London, five days a week. I’d read, nod off, or just stare out of the window with my thoughts. It was quite peaceful. When I got off the train I had a brisk walk through one of the big parks, and arrived at work feeling fresh and ready for the day.

Then I moved to London, zone 2, and swapped my long commute for a forty five minute bus ride. That was far, far more stressful - I had to allow loads of extra time in case the bus didn’t turn up for ages, getting increasingly wound up with the fear of being late, then there’d be a vicious fight to get on, no seats, shouty stressed people, sweating in your coat because you can’t take it off when you’re rammed in like sardines, and jolting through the London traffic. I arrived at work irritable and in need of a cup of tea before I’d even started.

I missed my civilised train journey and headspace.

My commute is 90 minutes each way to work, out of holiday season....by car. I managed to keep flexible working after lockdown and now have to be in the office a minimum of 2 days a week. In holiday season it can be over 2 hours.... we live in the South west.
I think commutes depend on what you're used for day to day living and how you commute I honestly do. If you have to travel a distance to go specialist ( think IKEA or John Lewis ) shopping or to an airport you become more hardened to travel also commutes by train with a seat are radically different to those without or driving.
If you love your job ( role, colleagues & pay) find a way to make it work. Listen to podcasts or audio books, if you have Wi-Fi household admin, like online food shopping , menu planning, Christmas shopping. However if it's not perfect start looking for another role making sure they have ongoing flexible working or what feels good for you as a commute

I do 90 mins 2 days a week and it feels hard post covid but I used to do it 4 days a week so on balance it isn't too bad. I used to do 2.5 hours 2x a week in a previous job and got fed up after a year but I know people who did that 5x a week for years so it depends on your personal tolerance. Several in my team have 3 hour commutes each way but we only ask people to be in 2x a week and ultimately they applied for a job that far away!

It does sound like a long commute and it isn't something I would want to do. I wfh and my workplace is a 90 minute drive away. If they enforced working on site I would definitely leave even though I like my job. In the end though, it doesn't really matter whether other people would find it reasonable or not; it's your life and you are allowed to just not want to do it for any reason.
Perhaps it's time to have a look what else is out there.

Why would you feel guilty? You don’t owe the business anything that working ethically for the job you’re paid to do. If it’s making your life less pleasant, you are free to get something better. Good luck, OP!