Commuting

Commuting is the daily travel between home and workplace. In large Italian cities like Rome, the average commute absorbs 2-4 hours per day, with direct costs (fuel, parking, public transport) and indirect costs (stress, fatigue, lost productivity).

How it works #

An IT consultant living 30 km from the office in Rome may spend 1h15-2h30 just for the one-way trip. Over 220 working days, that is 47-89 hours lost per month — up to two working weeks spent in the car producing nothing.

Why it matters #

Commuting is not just lost time. It is mental energy burned before the workday even begins. An IT consultant works with their mind: analyzing systems, writing code, designing architectures. If that mind arrives already drained after an hour of traffic, the value of the workday is compromised from the start.

What can go wrong #

Companies that ignore commuting costs pay a hidden price: for 50 consultants in Rome, the estimated cost is ~1,700,000 euros/year between lost hours, office rent, and related expenses. Smart working at 80% reduces this cost to ~174,000 euros/year from the second year onward.