Longer journey to work feels as bad as a pay cut

TWENTY more minutes added to your commute time is as bad as a 19 per cent pay cut for job satisfaction, a study found.

Every extra minute spent travelling to and from work reduces job and leisure time satisfaction, increases strain and worsens mental health, said Dr Kiron Chatterjee, an associate professor in travel behaviour at the University of the West of England in Bristol.

“The findings indicate that longer journeys to work have adverse subjective well-being effects, particularly through loss of free time,” said the study leader.

For someone earning the average pre-tax salary of £1,800 per month, equivalent to £21,600 a year, an extra 10 minutes spent travelling each way was equivalent to a £340 fall in monthly income.

The average commute per day has risen from 48 minutes to an hour, and one in seven people spend two hours or more each day travelling to and from work.

Long journeys by bus were associated with the biggest reduction in job satisfaction, while walking to work or working from home increased job satisfaction, and cycling to work also improved employees’ perception of their own health.

Women said longer commutes had more impact on their job satisfaction than men did, researchers found.

This was likely to be related to “greater household and family responsibilities”, the study said. “Walking or cycling to work are positive options to address this for women, as they increase their leisure time satisfaction,” the study added.

Dr Chatterjee said: “An important message for employers is that job satisfaction can be improved if workers reduce the time spent commuting, work from home and/or to walk or cycle to work – such commuting opportunities are likely to be good news for employee well-being and retention and hence reduced costs to businesses.”