Long commutes may increase the risk for divorce by 40
percent, according to a new study from a leading 
Swedish
university.
In Ireland, the last
Census showed that thousands of people spent well over two hours commuting, with
285,000 bleary-eyed workers setting off before 7am – and 113,000 of these out
the door before 6.30am.
The author of the
study, Erika Sandow of Umeå University told Swedish news website, the Local that
commuting “can be a positive thing because
it means you don’t have to uproot your family with every career move but it can
also be a strain on your relationship”.
According to the
study, 11 percent of Swedes have a journey to work that consists of a 45-minute
commute or longer.
According to Irish
figures, the number of workers taking more than an hour to get to work increased
from 142,500 in 2002 to 187,000 in the 2006 Census. Of these, 56,275 spent an an
hour and a half or more getting to work and the same time getting back.
In both Sweden and
Ireland, many commuters have small children and are married. In Ireland, Kildare
and Meath, both commuter belt areas, have the highest proportion of households
with married couples and children in the country, at 38.3pc and 39.5pc
respectively.
The risk of divorce
goes up by 40 percent for commuters and the risk is the highest in the first few
years of commuting, according to the Swedish research.
According to the
study, most people that start commuting to work continue doing so and more than
half that travel a long distance to work today have done so for more than five
years.
Five years also seems
to be a watershed because according to the study, most commuters and their
families have managed to adapt to the situation by then.
But Sandow adds that
they don’t know for certain why that is.
“There could be
another selection process at work there as well, that the ‘weaker’ relationships
can’t take that kind of strain in the first place,” she
said.
Growing labour market
regions may be good for growth but Sandow thinks that it is a pity that the
social costs of commuting aren’t brought up more in the
debate.
“We don’t know today
what the increase in commuting will mean to society in the long run and it is
important to look at the social costs involved as well,” Sandow
said.
And more Swedes are
travelling farther distances to work.
“The trend is
definitely pointing upward. Both the journey to work and the working hours are
getting longer, “ Sandow said.
The study was based
on statistical data from two million Swedish households between 1995 and 2000.