On Friday, I drove from Chicago to Racine, WI to meet a new client.  Because I left my house at an odd time, my trip there was cake.  I put in a few good CDs and jammed along to them as I cruised effortlessly along the highway.  The meeting went well, and I was still brimming with energy as I got back into the car to drive home.  And then I hit the Friday Afternoon Traffic that’s inevitable on any of the half-dozen freeways that circle Chicagoland.

I sat.  And I sat. I used my hands free set to make a phone call.  I sat.  I snuck a peek at e-mail on my Blackberry.  I sat.  I changed the CD.  Twice.  I sat.  At one point my car literally did not move for a full minute.  I started to get agitated, hopping up and down in my seat and craning my neck to ascertain how many miles of gridlock the eye could see.  All around me, the same cars inched forward, their drivers staring straight ahead as if in a trance. 

The fact that some people do this every day simply astounds me.  It’s known as commuting hell, and I’ve heard that it actually shaves years off people’s lives.  I’m not surprised.  By the time I finally got home from my three-hour long journey from Racine (it’s 60 miles), I felt like I needed a tranquilizer.  That’s why I was so jazzed to read about yet another way Google is innovating in the career satisfaction arena. 

Google is based in Silicon Valley, a region known for some of the worst traffic in the country.  So in order to make commuting less of an ordeal, Google has started a shuttle service that chauffeurs 1,200 employees to and from work daily.  The busses are the leather seat variety, and because they’re equipped with wireless Internet access, employees can work more hours on behalf of Google instead of wasting away behind an inert wheel. 

Good for Google.  Once again they’ve found a way to keep existing employees happy, attract new ones, and be a good steward of the environment - all while caring for the bottom line.  Other companies should sit up and take notice.