11 Mar Happiness is not a long commute – driving to work might drive you mad!
Check out this, yet another interesting happiness related article, from the Huffington Post…
When asked to name the worst part of our day by happiness researchers, we consistently name commuting as at least one of our least favorite activities. And yet, many of us choose long commutes (the average American commute is 50 minutes per day; nine out of 10 are by car). It's an inconsistency that has troubled academics.
Swiss economists Bruno Frey and Alois Stutzer say too many of us make an unequal tradeoff: they call it the "commuting paradox." According to economics, people should be compensated — either economically or emotionally — for the burden of their commute, but Frey and Stutzer found that "people with longer commuting time report systematically lower subjective well-being."
The rewards associated with longer commutes — a bigger house, a higher salary or better schools — don't fully compensate for the sacrifices we end up making by working so far from home (e.g., less time with family, and health issues like back pain, higher cholesterol, weight gain and anxiety).
Why do we make the mistake of choosing long commutes if they tend to make us less happy? It turns out that our focus and judgement are off…
So what's the relationships between happiness and work and driving? CLICK HERE TO READ MORE