The time cost of commuting to a State House
As the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly spread across the globe in 2019, millions of workers abruptly left their offices and began working remotely. In the year since that abrupt shift, officials at every level of government have adjusted to remote work. Zoom is now the go-to place for committee meetings, hearings, and even office hours. In fact, many public servants expect remote working will become the new normal -- even after social distancing requirements are lifted.
Why are folks in government so optimistic about working remotely?
For a lot of people who work in government, commuting is more than a headache; it’s a legal issue. Since elected officials are required to maintain residency in the districts they serve, the distance between a legislator’s home and office can be enormous. Officials with long commutes lose hours of productivity every week, even in small, dense places like Massachusetts.
Massachusetts lawmakers spend an estimated total* of 333 hours each day in transit for they commute to the State House. It’s a very uneven spread, as well. While there are 20 House districts with an estimated commuting time of 20 minutes or less, there are 22 districts with average commutes of 90 minutes or longer (of course, these estimates don’t include the days when Massachusetts traffic rears its head and doubles or triples this time).
Unsurprisingly, the transition to virtual work has been embraced by legislators and staffers who no longer spend their mornings and evenings in transit. It has also provided accessibility to constituents with greater barriers to visiting the State House for hearings or lobby days.
Sounds great! What’s the catch?
While working remotely offers obvious benefits for legislators, staff, and constituents, it also requires a lot more management of emails and other digital information. A decentralized team can easily fall prey to disconnection and disorganization. If emails and calls start slipping through the cracks, delivering efficient constituent services and crafting meaningful legislation can become nearly impossible.
Luckily, Legislata is here to help.
Legislata is the workplace productivity tool for state legislators and their staff. Users can track constituent messages, manage office tasks, and collaborate with peers in a single app. The increased digital workload is not only managed more easily, but that information can now be turned into insights that can guide your policy decision-making.
Interested in trying Legislata for yourself? We are now accepting applications for our beta test program. To express interest, visit: https://www.legislata.com/contact-us.