What is a virtual commute?

If there’s one thing remote workers probably don’t miss about going into the office, it’s the commute. Microsoft, however, disagrees. The company announced that it is working on a new feature for its Teams platform that will allow remote workers to schedule virtual commutes.  

The idea is to help give workers a solid separation between work and home, a time before and after work each day where they can reflect and set goals without work or home getting in the way. This does admittedly sound more calming than an actual commute would be, sort of like a miniature meditation session.

Microsoft has yet to reveal details on exactly how this feature, set to roll out in 2021, will work. According to the Wall Street Journal, users may be able to write down goals and to-do lists for each day, and then uncompleted items will be moved to the following day. The feature may also ask workers to describe how they feel at the beginning and end of each day.