I live in Brooklyn Park and work in Inver Grove Heights. For those of you that aren’t familiar with Twin Cities geography, that’s a 30-mile one-way commute straight through the middle of Minneapolis and St. Paul. It’s funny. When I talk with people about my job, this is the first thing we always discuss. We don’t talk about work satisfaction, career growth, company culture, employee benefits, or company profitability. We talk about my commute.

I’m sure that I drive past no less than 50 enterprise-grade IT shops between Brooklyn Park and Inver Grove Heights. I could probably manage to get some sort of IT leadership job at most of them. The rhetorical question is, why do I put myself through a grueling rush hour commute just to work at CHS?

In short, CHS is awesome! It’s worth the commute. I willing traded a short commute that was opposite rush hour, for a long commute against rush hour for a career growth opportunity, and it continues to be worth it.

I’m not writing this blog post just as a commercial for CHS IT as an employer of choice in the Twin Cities. While that’s true, that’s not my point. My point is, that it’s funny how we overemphasize the value of an easy commute, and devalue a workplace that is worth commuting to.

I have a family at home waiting for me. Yes, a longer commute means I’m away from them a little more. I do my best to get to work early and leave early so I can be with them. But, at the end of the day, they’d rather have me fulfilled but slightly less available, then around all the time and unfulfilled. It’s good to have the support of my family.

Can’t you telecommute to the work you love?

Probably. For me, technology leadership has always been a mostly in-person job. Engineers and developers can do it more effectively. People leadership is another type of work. I work from home one day per week. While no one is stopping me from doing more than that, I choose to be in-person, and present with my team. For my style, it makes me more effective to be in the office most of the time.

A commute isn’t a curse, it’s a blessing. If you love your job, you’re unlikely to hate your commute, but if you do, you can still change your mindset. I use my commute as transition time. I try to get out of my work-mode, and start mentally preparing myself to be effective as a husband and father at home. I also use my commute to listen to audio books and podcasts that further my professional development. This is a real opportunity. With my previous job on my short commute, I didn’t have enough time to listen to books. Now, I do, and my development continues, and I’m grateful for that.

The bottom line is the work you love is worth the commute. I have plenty of co-workers that drive even farther than I do, and they don’t complain. Those that complain about their commutes, just don’t get it. So, don’t let them get to you.