I had a conversation with a colleague today about the future impact of the rising cost of gas on employment. We wondered whether there might be some shifts in employment as people are not able to afford the price of gas to get to work. The long commute may become a thing of the past as people seek work closer to home or move closer to their work. There may be turnover that will in essence be a shuffling of employees from one location to another. It is a given that there will probably be more telecommuting, as that is already happening. However, we wondered how long it will take for workers on the lower end of pay scales whose work is physically at the workplace to decide to look for work closer to home or not work at all. This may be a big struggle for employers who could lose valuable knowledge and skills from these employees. What accommodations might employers need to do to keep these valuable assets?
