Commuting Stresses More Women Than Men
Personally I find commuting, by public transport especially, a tremendous chore. New research from the London School of Economics and the University of Sheffield suggests that women have it tougher than men.
The authors reported that professional women suffer mentally as a result of their commute, in stark contrast to the typical man who navigates their commute with nary a care in the world.
The rationale behind this belief was that women are more conscious of the time they spend (waste) traveling to and from work, and therefore get more stressed out by delays and complications during the journey.
Professor of Economics, Jennifer Roberts, at the University of Sheffield said:
"We know that women, especially those with children, are more likely to add daily errands to their commute such as food shopping and dropping-off and picking-up children from childcare. These time-constraints and the reduced flexibility that comes with them make commuting stressful in a way that it wouldn't be otherwise."
The mental anguish suffered as a result of commuting increases in line with the level of domestic work, so mothers of pre-school children suffered most commuting related stress. The psychological effect on them was found to be four times greater than for men with children of the same age.
The study found that even childless females in long-term relationships were also more affected than men.
Only single females with no children, those who could work flexible hours, and women whose partners were responsible for the bulk of childcare were unaffected by the daily commute.
When comparing men with other men, only those with pre-school age children suffered psychologically. Even so, in such cases they appeared to suffer less than childless women in relationships.
Professor of Social Policy, Paul Dolan, London School of Economics, said:
"Of course men also experience competing demands on their time, and so it may simply be that they are less affected by the psychological costs of commuting."
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