Delayed trains, traffic jams and queues at the ticket machine. For many of us the work commute equates to the least favourite part of the day. Indeed, research from the University of the West of England has found that a 20 minute increase in our commute is as bad as taking a 19% pay cut!
The survey also shows that for every extra minute spent travelling to our place of work, we lose job satisfaction and our mental wellbeing is affected.
Further key points of the report show that the average time UK employees spend commuting each day has risen to an hour, from 48 minutes.
Women are reportedly more affected than men by longer commutes, directly harming their overall job satisfaction.
While younger workers, and people on lower incomes, are less badly affected by long commutes, which could be down to ‘an acceptance amongst these groups that long commute times are unavoidable,’ researchers have suggested.How does your commute affect you? Do long journeys bother you? Tell us in the comments section…