Thais are most loyal commuters

Written by Writer on Friday, October 31st, 2008

Thais are most loyal commuters

Nearly a third of Thais are willing to put up with a two-hour commute to and from work, making Thais the world’s most committed commuters, according to a survey by the recruitment consultancy Robert Walters. The survey asked respondents how long they were willing to spend travelling to work, offering options of under 30 minutes, 30 minutes to an hour, an hour to two hours and more than two hours.

Some 31% of Thais said they would be willing to endure a one- to two-hour commute and 15% were prepared to spend even longer travelling. By contrast, only 18% of Chinese and a similar number of Americans were prepared to travel up to two hours.

Singaporeans have it easier. Given their country’s relatively small area and highly efficient transport network, 57% of the respondents were only willing to spend between 30 minutes and an hour commuting.

Interestingly, only 10% of Malaysians are willing to spend more than an hour travelling to work, despite their country’s larger size.

James Vessey, country manager at Robert Walters Thailand, commented that people in Thailand are clearly willing to do more in securing the right job, but in most countries the time people are willing to spend commuting is limited.

When locating headquarters, companies should consider travel, because it will clearly be a factor in their ability to secure the best staff, he added.

Bangkok Post
Friday October 31, 2008