We recently surveyed over 27 businesses and here are the results!

We have a difficult time recruiting due to our location in general as well as our very seasonal nature; we have modified some year-round workers’ schedules to get them off the island no later than 2 pm but this isn’t feasible for all staff/departments. Less than 10% of our workforce live in Sanibel, the rest are commuting from Fort Myers, Cape Coral and beyond and many find the commute too much and resign or do not return in subsequent years.
–Anonymous

We have major issues hiring talented staff. Heavy island traffic and long commutes have forced us to change hours for several staff members which makes projects harder.
–Anne-Marie

We had to take office space in Ft. Myers because the commute to Sanibel each day was untenable for many of our staff. Fortunately much of our work is done via phone/email so staff could work from another location, but that means clients who walk in may not be able to meet with their assigned representative and may have to meet with someone else. There are certainly other businesses that are more heavily impacted than ours, but having to rotate a reduced staff on Sanibel inhibits our company’s ability to be more engaged in the community.
–Chris