Comments on: Could Bike Commuting Help You Get Promoted?

By: Biking to work – a beginner’s guide

Biking to work – a beginner’s guide — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:04:27 +0000

[...] pressure, stimulating serotonin, and helping you arrive at the office fully awake. Bike riders also stand out for promotion – if you’re having trouble catching the attention of management or just want to be [...]

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:30:14 +0000

Very relevant post RL. I work for a financial brokerage firm, and today my boss’s boss’s boss’s boss was in the office. He came by my department and saw my bike, started commenting on how nice it was and how he used to ride when he lived in the mid-West, before he moved to Manhattan.

I did not know who this gentleman was at the time. He and I talked about bikes and he was asking me about bike commuting – the whole time he was wide-eyed like a little boy on Christmas morning. It wasn’t until after he left that someone pointed out to me who that was. Glad I used my southern upbringing and had said “yes sir” and “thank you sir” while we spoke…

By: James

James — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 23:22:48 +0000

Evan, you are on the money: “some management officials see biking to work as a less reliable option and a bicycle commuter as more of a rebel who refuses to conform to the ‘rules’…whatever those are.” Wouldn’t you like the example if your kid’s teacher rode to school? My effing principal said, in almost so many words, that it was more important to use the shower room for the PTA’s storage than to let me use it for its purpose. Then she went ballistic when I showed her our school-board has a ‘health and wellness’ policy that fits with my request. Did I mention that I got transfered to her school by her superiors to facilitate my bike commute? Well, she’ll be transfered within a year anyway… Hope with her bulk and SUV she lives to retirement.

By: Evan

Evan — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 19:06:19 +0000

Those are some great thoughts RL. But I’m worried that a lot of companies might view bike commuters as a liability. (i.e. more likely to come in late or not come in at all, biking is not as reliable or civilized as car, etc…) In short, I think some management officials see biking to work as a less reliable option and a bicycle commuter as more of a rebel who refuses to conform to the “rules”…whatever those are.

Fortunately I work in a place that is very supportive of my decision to ride, but after talking with friends about it I have a feeling not everybody sees it our way. It’s up to us to change that perspective!

I suppose the best way to do that is to keep riding and arriving to work early or on time.

By: Moe

Moe — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 18:15:59 +0000

I actually arrived on time, it was the extra time that I took cleaning up that got me in trouble.

By: Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 18:08:48 +0000

They should give bike commuters a little bit of a break if they’re running late…I mean, there’s no AAA to call if we get a flat out there or break a shifter cable!!!

By: Moe

Moe — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 17:50:10 +0000

Even though my company does offer a monetary incentive to ride to work, I was actually ‘singled-out’ one time that I arrived late to work. I was basically told to drive my car if I was running late. The irony of the whole situation was that people at my work arrive late all the time, and they freaking drive!!!

By: RL Policar

RL Policar — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 17:07:34 +0000

If its that bad, you could always move to another company.

By: Quinn McLaughlin

Quinn McLaughlin — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 16:35:47 +0000

One other side from your own work ethic(ref. halfassed) is the quality of the company you work for, I currently don’t get paid enough to support a car, especially when the company doesn’t have company vehicles.

By: Nord

Nord — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 15:00:39 +0000

It’s funny you mention it, because most of my bosses seem to think its the coolest thing since sliced bread when I ride my bike to the office. Perhaps its because last month, when I logged the greatest number of commuting miles yet, set a record for productivity.

As Jeff has been known to say, “viva la velorution!”