High gasoline prices are putting the squeeze on companies and their workers. People are leaving their jobs due to the high commuting costs. The New York Times reports that a resume service received "14 calls last week and 9 of those named high gas prices as their No. 1 reason for leaving their job."
And by my count, the Times presents seven ways that companies are changing to relieve the pressure:
- Encourage more telecommuting. The Times describes how "Citigate Cunningham, a public relations company, now encourages workers to stay home whenever possible, providing laptop computers and BlackBerrys to enable telecommuting, and reimbursing them $40 a month for high-speed Internet connections in their homes."
- Give employees money to pay for gas. Since June, OperationsInc., a human resource consulting firm, gave employees up to $100 a month on an American Express (NYSE: AXP) card "to offset rising gas prices."
- Rent offices closer to workers' homes. Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) recently "leased three large office complexes far from its headquarters" to cut 7,000 employees' commutes.









