New study: Commuting more than 5 hours a week is linked with weight and sleep problems
As bosses and employees continue to battle about just how much time back in the office is reasonable, science just handed those skeptical of resuming their long treks into the office some ammunition to make their case. A new study shows that spending five or more hours a week commuting is linked with a list of problematic health outcomes.
The study, conducted by Swedish researchers, analyzed data on some
13,000 Swedish adults collected from
2013 to 2018. The researchers looked at commute times, lifestyle, health measures and reported stress levels. The results do not paint a very flattering picture of the effect of even a fairly moderate commute.
“People who worked more than 40 hours and commuted more than five hours each week were more likely to be physically inactive and experience sleep problems, compared with times when they only commuted one to five hours a week,” the researchers report on The Conversation. There was also a connection between long commutes and being overweight. “This may be due to having little time to exercise or through stress making it difficult to sleep,” the researchers add.
This study adds to a stack of pre-pandemic research showing that apart from being one of people’s most loathed activities, a lengthy commute is associated with a host of negative health outcomes, from worse cardiac health to poorer performance on memory and cognitive tests.
The researchers suggest this information is useful for workers considering changing employers and for city planners interested in building communities that make staying healthy easier. Certainly these results are useful for both groups, but they’re also useful for leaders in the middle of back-to-office discussions.
Science is pretty clear that being physically together has benefits in certain situations and for certain people. Initial studies — and anecdotal evidence — suggest creativity and brainstorming are easier in person. Mentoring and early career development are easier face to face, which makes in-person work particularly valuable for younger workers. Early stage startups seem to grow much more quickly when everyone is physically together.
But that’s just one side of the scale. A heap of studies also shows that, when it comes to heads-down execution of well-defined tasks, remote work beats in person. And if the discussions and surveys of the last couple of years have taught us anything, it’s that many employees love flexibility and will fight tooth and nail to keep it.