FROM WORKPLACE ATTACHMENT AND DETACHMENT TO COMMUTER SATISFACTION

Abstract

Commuting to and from work can be stressful, tedious and unenjoyable. Previous research has demonstrated the positive/negative relationship between duration of commuting and life satisfaction. Relying on secondary data, the present study applies a quantitative research approach to examine the data. The quantitative results obtained indicate that there is a positive correlation between the indicators of 1-9 minutes and 45-59 minutes of commuting and happiness. This implies that a higher degree of workforce commuting in those periods leads to a higher degree of happiness. Secondly, in some cases employees spend more time commuting than the number of paid vacation days. In seven (Spain, Austria, Slovakia, Finland, Portugal, Cyprus and Iceland) of the surveyed countries, the commute is shorter than employees’ permitted annual time off. According to the data, the duration of commuting time can affect our state of happiness. Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that employees spend more time commuting than the number of paid vacation days. The time and stress that appear with a long commute have a big influence when it depends whether the employee prefers free time (shorter commute) or money. Happiness may be influenced by different transportation modes. Clearly, the advantage of lessening this burden makes employees happier. Overall, the study indicates that duration of commuting (short or long) can contribute to being happy, but happiness will only be maintained if the commute is shorter than employees’ permitted annual time off.