Whether you are bussing, driving, walking or taking multiple forms of public transit, commuting is one of the main causes of daily stress.
All around the world, people start their day with a commute to work, and face an exhausting commute home at the end of their work day. Unfortunately, this takes up a significant amount of much-needed time and energy.
Commutes of over 45 minutes in length are linked with poor sleep quality, exhaustion and bad health, a study by BMC Public Health has shown. Commuting also takes a toll on relationships – with a higher likelihood of separation among commuters that make long journeys to work regularly.
A survey was commissioned by Regus (including opinions of over 16,000 professionals across over 80 countries) to reveal how workers would use their time if they were able to reduce their commute, and work more flexibly. Choices of activities were provided – from spending more time with their partner and family, to spending more time working (over half of respondents would actually choose to work more).
There are actually many variations between people from each country that was surveyed. Japanese and Canadian workers expressed that their priority is to become more fit and exercise more, whereas Indians and French workers would rather choose to spend the additional time with their partners and family, for example.
- Japanese workers are the least inclined to commit this time to charitable work – only 36% prefer that option – as opposed to 70% of Indian workers.
- Indian workers are the most diligent – only 40% opting to spend the extra time in bed, and 72% preferring to spend the extra time at their desks.
- French workers, however, indicated that 70% of respondents would happily reset the alarm clock and carry on snoozing if commuting became a thing of the past.
But not everybody suffers through the wasted time of commuting each day – many people work from home! Lifestyle Kick has offered some ways to stay healthy while working from home.
What would you do with the extra time if you could eliminate your daily commute?
