Staggered office timings is a win-win for everyone

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The Central Railway (CR) recently announced that six organisations have agreed to stagger their office timings, preventing employees from taking the train all at once during the rush hour, lessening the burden on the suburban railway. The six are the Postal Department, Bombay Stock Exchange, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), All India Association of Industries, Bajaj Electricals Ltd and IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd.

After implementing flexible working hours for its employees, so that Railway employees do not end up jostling with commuters to reach offices in time, the Central Railways had sent out letters to over 350 organisations, offices and business chambers with the appeal to start staggering their office timings.

It is heartening to see that there has been a response to this sensible and visionary appeal. We want to see more companies/organisations at least sit together seriously and look at the merits of this case.

There are several pros, prime amongst them being that so-called peak hours melt and get staggered, which means a more comfortable commute for those employed. A less stressed, more at ease employee translates into happiness. That itself translates into better productivity. One can simply see the fortunate trail or ripple effect.

The bigger picture is staggered timings mean less danger on the platforms, on station staircases and escalators, and in the trains too. It means no pushing in these spaces, less crush of people and subsequently, less panic.

Finally, it also means a step towards mitigating death on the tracks. Hanging out of the train spell death for commuters and we have seen so many tragic falls because of the crush and rush. See lessening the burden on this facility as an exercise in safety besides all the psychological benefits it can and does offer.