COM-MUTE

Submitted by Admin on

Although many opt to stay quiet, not complain, or talk about it, commuting to and from the job is very important for most working people. Researchers have explored the effects of commuting time on the psychological health of men and women.

They have used data that includes variables known to determine psychological health, as well as factors which may provide compensation for commuting such as income, job satisfaction and housing quality.

The results show that, even after these variables are considered, commuting has an important detrimental effect on the psychological health of women, but not men, and this result is robust to numerous different specifications.

We explore explanations for this gender difference and can find no evidence that it is due to women's shorter working hours or weaker occupational position. Rather women's greater sensitivity to commuting time seems to be a result of their larger responsibility for day-to-day household tasks, including childcare and housework.

How far do you commute to work? How long is your one way daily commute and how does it affect you?