Worse commute, better life? The journey to work, job characteristics, and well-being
The percentage of people who work from home (WFH) skyrocketed with the onset of Covid-19. Today, many workers continue to WFH, either completely or a few days a week. One reason for the popularity of WFH is a desire to minimize the commute and its associated costs in time, money, discomfort, and dan...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198225001873 |
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| author | Eric A. Morris Fariba Siddiq Evelyn Blumenberg |
| author_facet | Eric A. Morris Fariba Siddiq Evelyn Blumenberg |
| author_sort | Eric A. Morris |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The percentage of people who work from home (WFH) skyrocketed with the onset of Covid-19. Today, many workers continue to WFH, either completely or a few days a week. One reason for the popularity of WFH is a desire to minimize the commute and its associated costs in time, money, discomfort, and danger. In fact, workers with longer commutes should theoretically receive “compensating differentials” of benefits from their employers that offset their high commute costs. That said, working at a workplace may have advantages, such as stronger connections to coworkers and supervisors, better chances to learn on the job, and improved opportunities for career advancement. Using European Social Survey data, we examine whether commute durations are associated with workers’ perceptions of their job characteristics and desirability, as well as their happiness, or “subjective well-being.” We find that, among those who commute, commute duration is unrelated to wages, job satisfaction, and overall subjective well-being. Workers who WFH report more freedom in setting hours, but face greater stress at work, more work at night, and longer hours, the latter of which may exceed the time they save by not having to commute. Importantly, people who WFH tend to report being more satisfied with their jobs, as well as being well-connected to coworkers and supervisors and having a good chance for professional advancement. Employers and society should work to accommodate WFH with such steps as developing team-building strategies for WFH workers, addressing the “digital divide” where some workers may lack at-home information and communications technology, and adapting cities to WFH, for example by facilitating the conversion of office space to other uses and accommodating the need for more spacious homes. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-03f2fb2fef104a68ba23fff48db87742 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2590-1982 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives |
| spelling | doaj-art-03f2fb2fef104a68ba23fff48db877422025-08-22T04:57:43ZengElsevierTransportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives2590-19822025-07-013210150810.1016/j.trip.2025.101508Worse commute, better life? The journey to work, job characteristics, and well-beingEric A. Morris0Fariba Siddiq1Evelyn Blumenberg2Professor of City and Regional Planning, Clemson University, Lee Hall 2-317, Clemson, SC 29634, USAResearcher, UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, 3320 Public Affairs Building, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1656, USAProfessor of Urban Planning; Director, UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies, 2381A Public Affairs Building, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1656, USA; Corresponding author.The percentage of people who work from home (WFH) skyrocketed with the onset of Covid-19. Today, many workers continue to WFH, either completely or a few days a week. One reason for the popularity of WFH is a desire to minimize the commute and its associated costs in time, money, discomfort, and danger. In fact, workers with longer commutes should theoretically receive “compensating differentials” of benefits from their employers that offset their high commute costs. That said, working at a workplace may have advantages, such as stronger connections to coworkers and supervisors, better chances to learn on the job, and improved opportunities for career advancement. Using European Social Survey data, we examine whether commute durations are associated with workers’ perceptions of their job characteristics and desirability, as well as their happiness, or “subjective well-being.” We find that, among those who commute, commute duration is unrelated to wages, job satisfaction, and overall subjective well-being. Workers who WFH report more freedom in setting hours, but face greater stress at work, more work at night, and longer hours, the latter of which may exceed the time they save by not having to commute. Importantly, people who WFH tend to report being more satisfied with their jobs, as well as being well-connected to coworkers and supervisors and having a good chance for professional advancement. Employers and society should work to accommodate WFH with such steps as developing team-building strategies for WFH workers, addressing the “digital divide” where some workers may lack at-home information and communications technology, and adapting cities to WFH, for example by facilitating the conversion of office space to other uses and accommodating the need for more spacious homes.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198225001873CommuteJob characteristicsWork from homeRemote workWell-being |
| spellingShingle | Eric A. Morris Fariba Siddiq Evelyn Blumenberg Worse commute, better life? The journey to work, job characteristics, and well-being Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives Commute Job characteristics Work from home Remote work Well-being |
| title | Worse commute, better life? The journey to work, job characteristics, and well-being |
| title_full | Worse commute, better life? The journey to work, job characteristics, and well-being |
| title_fullStr | Worse commute, better life? The journey to work, job characteristics, and well-being |
| title_full_unstemmed | Worse commute, better life? The journey to work, job characteristics, and well-being |
| title_short | Worse commute, better life? The journey to work, job characteristics, and well-being |
| title_sort | worse commute better life the journey to work job characteristics and well being |
| topic | Commute Job characteristics Work from home Remote work Well-being |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590198225001873 |
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