How important is work location to you?

Planet_Switzerland · 19 May 2018 at 11:30PM

I've been with my company for many years now and a big factor in me being there for so long is the location.

I can see 3 pubs out the office window and many more are within a 5 minute walk, lots of places to eat, lots of shops, there's a bus stop right outside and it's in between two tube stations that take less than 5 minutes to walk to. It's probably one of the quickest Central London locations for me to commute to as well.

Now we're moving out to Zone 2, so not even Central London, and I'm thinking now it's time for me to leave. Whenever I'm sent a job spec the first thing I check after salary is location and if it's not Central London I'm not interested, even central locations that are a bit awkward to get to I reject.

I've worked in some pretty terrible locations in the past, prior to moving to London I worked 20 miles from where I lived in a depressing industrial estate and on that basis alone I never saw any future working for that company.

Anyone else find the location a big factor or would you work anywhere within a reasonable commuting distance?

Gavin83 · 20 May 2018 at 2:15AM

I assumed when I saw the title this would be to do with length of commute but this is an interesting question. For me location isn't important, in terms of amenities anyway. I wouldn't want a long commute or to work in an office that was difficult to get to but the surrounding area doesn't bother me.

I actually work across two offices at the moment which really couldn't be any different. One is in an old building in a busy town centre, full of shops and places to eat. The other is in a fairly new building which has nothing of note around it. If you want food there your options are either the work canteen or a pub around 10 mins walk away. No shops at all. However despite this it is located extremely close to a station and does have some cool views. I don't really have a preference between the two to be honest.

RichardD1970 · 20 May 2018 at 2:57PM

Location for me is only relevant for length of commute.

15-20 min drive or 30-35 min cycle at the moment, that's plenty.

mylastpound · 20 May 2018 at 3:21PM

Ive always worked on various business parks in my local town and its one thing ive never thought about as I was used to it since leaving school

However, the company I work for now have 2 city centre offices, one of the offices has a supermarket on the ground floor and take away places across the road and the office city centre location doesn't have amenities like that right out side, but a bit of a walk.
I think I would find it hard changing back to a business park with no shop ect, However, I wouldn't let it put me off a job, id just have to be more mindful about packing a days worth of food to take with me.

on the other hand, job commute would more likely put me off a role than local shops not being close by.

WibblyGirly · 20 May 2018 at 3:25PM

I did prefer working in a city centre retail store. I used to work in a shopping centre and it was quite depressing! The staff all the stores would get new jobs in another store. It was quite bad for gossip too and you were restricted in lunch break to either pack up or the food court which was generally unhealthy.
I much preferred city centre as I could go shopping, have a much wider choice of lunch food and it was just nice sometimes to go to the front door and have fresh air and sunshine

mylastpound · 20 May 2018 at 3:29PM

WibblyGirly wrote: »

you were restricted in lunch break to either pack up or the food court which was generally unhealthy.
I much preferred city centre as I could go shopping, have a much wider choice of lunch food and it was just nice sometimes to go to the front door and have fresh air and sunshine

I agree with you on this, I like to get out and do my own thing, instead of sitting in a kitchen area with people I work with talking about soaps or listening to people gossip.

Tabbytabitha · 20 May 2018 at 3:59PM

mylastpound wrote: »

Ive always worked on various business parks in my local town and its one thing ive never thought about as I was used to it since leaving school

However, the company I work for now have 2 city centre offices, one of the offices has a supermarket on the ground floor and take away places across the road and the office city centre location doesn't have amenities like that right out side, but a bit of a walk.
I think I would find it hard changing back to a business park with no shop ect, However, I wouldn't let it put me off a job, id just have to be more mindful about packing a days worth of food to take with me.

on the other hand, job commute would more likely put me off a role than local shops not being close by.

Do you mean making a sandwich?

TELLIT01 · 20 May 2018 at 4:06PM

For me the length of commute was also a major deciding factor. I never wanted to travel more than about half an hour to work. I'm the polar opposite of the OP, I was once head-hunted for a job but when I discovered it was in London turned it down without knowing anything about the job itself. I told the recruiter that there wasn't enough money in any job for me to work in London.

abdovic · 20 May 2018 at 4:08PM

:cool:;):money:for me it s one of the most important things as it allows me to feel comfortable

elsien · 20 May 2018 at 4:16PM

I don't care where the nearest pub is as I never go there on a working day anyway. Or after work. Ditto shops - I get half an hour lunch break which isn't enough time to do much more than grab a sandwich if I've not made one.
My preference would be somewhere with a bit of greenery/water nearby so I can have a lunch break out of the office and get a bit of not too crowded scenic fresh air at the same time. But as it's only half an hour out of my day, location is really only reievant as it how long to takes to get there.
Other factors are far more important.

MacMickster · 20 May 2018 at 4:18PM

Different strokes for different folks, but for me the facilities for spending my lunch hour would seem to be one of the least important factors when applying for any job. You save a fortune by taking your own lunch with you rather than buying from Greggs and the like. As for nearby pubs, I would think that fewer and fewer employers are tolerant of their employees having a liquid lunch these days.

Length and cost of commute on the other hand would be a key factor in deciding whether any job would be worthwhile.

How important is work location to you?

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