Two thirds of British office workers claim that parking is either insufficient or pushed to the limit at their workplace, a research study from car insurance provider, Chaucer Direct, has found.
The West Midlands came out worst, with a shocking 72% saying that this was the case. This was echoed in Wales and Yorkshire, with 71% and 70% respectively.
Conversely, only 57% of respondents from the East Midlands felt that this was the case, making it the happiest corresponding region for office workers. Joining at the lower end of the spectrum was Northern Ireland and Scotland, at 61% and 62% respectively.
This research not only highlighted the need for workplaces to improve car parking capacity, workers also suggested that the issue was damaging job prospects and bank balances:
- 36% of workers claimed that parking at work has been costly, either as a result of damage to vehicles (24%) or fines and charges (12%).
- Over half (54%) are risking job prospects as a result of parking-related lateness or tension with colleagues.
- Around a quarter (26%) of workers felt workplace relationships as a whole have been damaged by the tension of parking, such as blocking colleagues in
Head of Chaucer Direct Paul Baxter commented: “Parking is an important part of employee benefits which helps to make getting to and from work easier. This survey clearly shows the strength of feeling employees have when they experience parking problems at work. However, employers do face issues with limits on the number of parking spaces in offices imposed by planning authorities and taxes on parking spaces in some areas. Employers need to be creative to solve these issues through staggered working hours, car share schemes and by providing convenient transport from offices to train stations.”
