Why journeys to work over 45 minutes are a waste of time

PEOPLE are happy to commute up to 45 minutes if it means living in a good area or reaching a desirable job – but no longer than that, according to a study.

Researchers analysing the habits of 4,248 workers over seven years found that individuals whose commute to work was longer than 45 minutes tended to move house in order to reduce their travel times.

Conversely, those who started the study period with commutes shorter than 45 minutes were often prepared to increase their travel times in order to move to a better home or to reach a more desirable job located further away.

The study also found that those who did not move house were more likely to have shorter commutes to begin with and to be homeowners with decent to high incomes.

Meanwhile, people who changed residences but remained at the same workplace had middle-range incomes and upgraded from tenancy to ownerships that lengthened their commutes.

The study, by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

It follows data suggesting that one in seven commuters is now spending two hours or more each day travelling to and from work.

A study by the University of the West of England, Bristol, last year found that a 20-minute increase in commute time, averaged out across the year, was equivalent to a 19 per cent pay cut for job satisfaction.