Dive Brief:
- Commuting is stressing out employees on many levels, according to a recent study.
- The University of Montreal's School of Industrial Relations study shows that some of the stress employees are facing might not be related to their job at all but to their commute to work, including the length, distance and means of travel, reports Human Resources Online.
- More than 20 minutes of commuting was found to increase the risk of burnout "significantly." If this goes up to 35 minutes, employers can expect a risk of employees showing increased cynicism towards their job. Also, the bigger the city, the more stressful the commute, especially for people commuting by car.
Dive Insight
In the article, Annie Barreck, the study’s author, focused on the correlation between commuting stress factors and the likelihood of suffering from burnout.
"But their importance varies according to the individual, the conditions in which their trips take place, and the place where the individual works," she says, adding tha managing employee commuting flexibly would increase employee efficiency and moreover enable organisations to attract or retain workers.
"In the current context of skill shortages, employers have everything to gain from facilitating the mental health of their employees," suggests Barreck.
