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A 360 degree view of the return to the office

A 360 degree view of the return to the office

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Context: I have a full-time job in NYC, but I run Clever as a passion project...using my own time and money.
This blog post is my point of view as a commuter.

Even though I built the Clever Commute business, I do understand remote work. Yes, I have a full-time job "in NYC", but it's been over 20 years since I did 5-days-a-week in the office.

But like many of you, I worked at home full-time during the pandemic.
As of March 12, 2021, I was fully vaccinated and started commuting again. It started with one day a week and it's now two.
Here are my thoughts on why I returned to the office...and why you should consider it, too.

I'm no stranger to working from home.

  • When my (now college-grad) daughter was born, I was one of the first at my company to do "work from home".
  • Even pre-pandemic, the culture of my office was for people to work remotely at least 1 day a week

I have seen the downside

  • E-mail, IM and voice/video are my primary communication/productivity tools.
    I know it can feel stupid to spend 3 hours a day commuting just to talk on a phone from NYC.
  • All too many times, I have had the terrible experience of a messed-up commute home causing me to miss my daughters' swim meets, theater performances, back-to-school nights, family dinners, and bedtimes.
    That feeling was a driving force for me to create the Clever service.

You probably feel that you (and your company) are getting by just fine with remote work..and you're probably correct. Actually, many employers are posting strong financial results.
But part of what is happening is not healthy or sustainable for our employers or for us.

Lift as you climb
By the time you become a suburban commuter, the data suggests you are at a point in your life where you are uniquely positioned to be a leader, mentor, and role model to others.
The less-experienced people in our firms need to see the behaviors of we who are at "the next level"...even if they are not asking for it. This affects both their careers as well as the overall strength and viability of the company.

Improve yourself...for yourself 
This is a nuanced twist on the above. Years ago, my manager did salsa dancing as a hobby. He told me that he always learned something from every dance partner of his.
Can this learning happen as you work remotely? Maybe...but so many opportunities are missed.

Improve yourself...for your company  
A Clever commuter recently told me that part of her work is to hammer out tough issues with her counterparts. She said that one of the keys to her effective working relationships with her adversaries is the fact when they meet in person, they have a few minutes around the conference table before the meeting starts ("how are your kids?"..."taking any vacation?"...). These engagements humanize the process...and set the stage for the constructive collaboration which happens once the meeting actually starts.
Also, don't forget the magic that happens after the meeting ends...as we walk to the desk/elevator with people from the meeting.
Those dynamics are lost when meeting start and stop like this:

Help our employers be better in a tight labor market
Companies are evolving to accommodate remote work. They may not have the model perfect at this time.
The 16 months so far have been an accelerant unlike anything we could have ever imagined. Employers need to know how to attract and retain talent in this seller's market for labor.
Help them get to the best answers for everyone involved.

Summing it up
Do I want to spend 3 hours a day going back and forth? No way. But as I recently posted on LinkedIn, there are some real advantages to having that time to read...learn...relax...listen to podcasts (and to see people in NYC).

Commuting is not the goal. It is the enabler of the dynamics mentioned above.

Clearly, there are two "poles": 100% remote and 100% in the office
Many of us have experienced the former...and I see very few employers truly expecting the latter.
Maybe there is a greater amount of common ground than imagined.  But "Step 1" is to get back on that horse and be a part of figuring out what the best model is. For you, your company, and the people you work with.

I returned to the office after a year of working from home

I returned to the office after a year of working from home

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I'm the Clever Commute guy. I have a full-time job in technology for a financial services firm. I started what became Clever back in 2006...during the Blackberry days. A lot has changed since then, but one thing has stayed the same: technology can address some of the problems with the commute.
Once I was fully-vaccinated, I started the process of returning to the office.
My experiences:

NJ Transit - I generally commute in via Hoboken and out via NY Penn Station.
Morning: the train was lightly-populated...and not all cars were open. The level of cleanliness does not appear any better or worse than pre-Covid.
There were opportunities for physical distancing two ways:
o no one sat in the same row as me
o we also tried to keep a free row between passengers

In my experience, everyone wears a mask. No one eats or drinks.
Since Newark Broad Street is a transfer point, some folks get out there to catch a train to NY Penn.
Detraining at Hoboken terminal is simple and safe.

Evening: A bit more crowded...but still safe and clean. I had my space and I did not see any masklessness.

PATH - The next leg of the trip takes me to World Trade Center. Again: sparse...plenty of open seats...mask-wearing. See comment above regarding cleanliness.

Subway - The lines I ride (2/3 4/5) are safe and clean. The crowds certainly can vary...but I did not experience anything worrisome.

Financial District - It's quiet...but not a ghost town. My favorite old-school deli is open...and so is Le Pan Quotidien.  There are people on the streets. The bars and restaurants have created outdoor seats and bubbles. Stone Street is surprisingly vibrant.

My Office - It's quiet, too. But they are doing all the right things: Temperature scan...app-based health-check questionnaire...limiting capacity on elevators...goodie bag with thermometer/masks/sanitizer. I feel very safe there and it's nice to be out of the house...with true boundaries to the start and end of the day,

A note on Penn Station - As I previously blogged, the situation there is largely in the eye of the beholder. The LIRR section is under a lot of construction/renovation. The NJT and Amtrak areas do indeed have some closures...some homeless. But I also think that since there are fewer people there in general, we can actually see that which has always been there. I also imagine that the warming weather means that fewer people will be seeking shelter there.

Overall - The recovery will take a while...but the data shows that we have bounced off the bottom and that commuters are returning. Even in non-pandemic times, the commuter traffic ebbs in the warmer weather. Do you remember the traditional first-commute-after-Labor-day crowd? 2021 won't be as high as it was in 2019...but it will be worlds ahead of 2020.

Will you be a part of it?

Covid Crisis: “Danger” as well as “Opportunity”

Covid Crisis: “Danger” as well as “Opportunity”

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Back in 2006, as a longtime frustrated train rider, I started what became Clever Commute. Our offerings have evolved over the years, but one thing hasn't: Commuters love Clever.
To be clear: I have a full-time job in NYC. I run Clever as a passion project. There are no investors...no venture capital. I use my own time and money and I am energized by building and running this service.

The pandemic caused me and many others to take a year off from commuting. The encouraging news is that nearly half of the people who work in Manhattan offices are expected to return to their desks this fall. I already started going back to my office. More on that later.

JFK said The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger--but recognize the opportunity.

Did the last 12 months create an opportunity? Yes!

I was able to make some fundamental improvements which would have been very hard to do during peak commuting times. The "Covid lull" gave me a window to act.

(1) Overhauled our technology platform

  • "Cloud" is the future and Clever is now fully cloud-based.
    Our "back-end" is now faster and more resilient than ever.
    We now also have the ability to increase horsepower on demand.
    There are scores of other amazing benefits to the cloud as well.
  • Re-launched the user-facing CleverCommute.com website
  • Modernized the "front end" of the app itself.

(2) Added new features you can use

The result: The end-user experience is now better, faster, and more stable than ever.

Are We Done?

Hah! Never!
In the time since our Version 1.0 product was released in 2015, we have literally made thousands of improvements (check out this video of our first version...and please promise not to laugh).
There are hundreds of known enhancements we want to make...and the list never stops growing.

Will the commuting experience ever look like it did pre-pandemic? Probably not...but what ever does stay the same over time? Certainly not technology and technology-based services such as Clever Commute.
Let's see what the future holds!

My mailbox is always open...and maybe I'll see you on the rails and roads soon?

 

How Clever Commute integrates the official info from transit providers

How Clever Commute integrates the official info from transit providers

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As users of our Premium service, know, Clever Commute can be much more than a place for crowdsourced info. (ref: The five data sources)

And, as commuters know, the transit providers continue to try to share timely info directly with their commuters.

Clever Commute can bring both of these together in the app.

For years, "official info" was a Premium feature. During the covid crisis, we will make this content available to all users,

Here's an example:

What’s new in version 6.0.4

Snow is coming…so we took down the paywall

Snow is coming…so we took down the paywall

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Due to Wintry conditions on our commute, we have taken down the paywall for Clever Commute Premium features 
That means that all users have all Premium features FOR FREE at this time.

Call to action: Logout/login AND restart the app

List of features – https://clevercommute.com/premiumfeatures
More info about Premium – https://clevercommute.com/premium

Suggestions to see some of the most-helpful features:

(1) Go to Settings => “Comms & Config”

  • Change the value of “History – Alerts” to see more than just 2 hours of recent history
  • Speed up your refresh interval
  • Add color-coding to Recent Alerts

(2) Go to Settings => “My Commute” and add a second and third commuting line

…and of course, tonight, use our enhanced departureboard with track prediction

Please use this opportunity to share info and help each other.
Please use the Contact feature of our web site if you have any questions.