Belgium is well known for its chaotic and busy rush hours in the morning and the evenings, much to the frustration of workers who spend an average of 50 minutes commuting every day.
Most employees live and work in the same province, and yet Belgians spend 50 minutes a day commuting, covering an average distance of 40 km (20 km each way), HR service provider SD Worx found based on a survey of 1,000 working people. A previous study by the same group showed employees in Belgium are among those with the greatest commuting distance in Europe.
When analysing the distances covered based on the place of residence, those living in East Flanders spend the longest time on the road with an average commute of 59 minutes each day.
People living in Walloon and Flemish Brabant are the most mobile: over half of Walloon Brabant inhabitants work in another province (only 46% work in the same province), while just 38% of Flemish Brabant inhabitants work in their own province.
However, on a workplace location basis, people commuting to Brussels spend the longest time on the road: an average of 73 minutes per day. This can be explained by the fact that Brussels attracts the most commuters from almost any other province.
Meanwhile, when looking at the commute of people living in Brussels, it is much shorter. "Those living in Brussels take less time on average to get to and from work, also because they travel fewer kilometres (28 kilometres there and back on average)," SD Worx noted.
Commute linked to employee retention?
Distance to work certainly plays a role, ranking in the top five reasons for choosing an organisation and sixth as a reason for leaving the organisation.
However, in this 2023 survey, SD Worx did not establish a firm link between distance and time for commuting on the one hand and intention to leave the employer on the other.
It shows that the intention to change employer is not higher among those who travel long distances, especially if there is a company culture with autonomy and freedom of choice. "Among workers who spend more than an hour and a half a day commuting, even eight in 10 are not interested in leaving."
