This Is How Commuting Takes A Toll On The Mental Health Of Your Employees

The well-being programs in the corporate world don’t have much value anymore. The reason for this is employees have to commute more than 200 hours every year to reach their workplace. When a person has to spend a significant part of their day working in commute, it takes a toll on their physical and mental well-being.

While companies are bringing up more well-being programs and focusing on physical health most of the time, mental well-being is taking a backseat, and that’s pretty alarming. Organizations are somehow overlooking the psychological aspects that need equal attention. The commute is one of the main factors that take a toll on an employee’s mental health. Have a look at why it’s a concern.

Commuting Can Have Negative Effects On Mental Health

The shortage of housing in metro areas forces people to stay further from their workplaces. Therefore, they don’t have easy access to regular public transportation. Hence, the time they take to commute to their offices is now at an all-time high. Statistics reveal that around 80% of the commuters have to drive alone to reach their workplaces. A round-trip journey daily can add up to over 50 minutes.

Around 3.5 million Americans spend more than 90 minutes and travel over 50 miles to reach their offices. Facts suggest that a majority of the people spend the lion’s share of their energy and time on just commuting. Automatically, this is bound to have a detrimental effect on an employees’ mental health, and this is a reality.

Decreasing Levels Of Satisfaction And Increasing Risks Of Depression

A recent study has divulged that workers who take the longest time commute fall prey to lower levels of satisfaction. As per researchers, among all the activities that one carries out in a day, traveling to work, especially by car, is one of the most negative experiences that one can have in a day. People who have to travel a long distance are probably 33% more likely to endure depression more than those who don’t have to go through long commutes.

Aside from that, 37% of them are more likely to suffer from financial issues. Another report reveals that 55% of the commuters have increased levels of stress since they have to cover longer distances to reach their workplaces daily.

Decreased Productivity

Workers who suffer from lengthy commutes can engage themselves in less office time. This is because commuting doesn’t make them happy under any circumstance. Happiness has a significant role to play in producing productive work hours at the office. When employees are not in a proper state of mind, they are bound to miss work. Even if they are present at work, they are not able to function correctly, as is expected from them.

It has been found once that if an individual has to travel for longer distances, it is will undoubtedly take a toll on their mental happiness. They feel exhausted and feel sleep-deprived. Mental dissatisfaction will automatically get reflected in their performance. Not being able to catch good sleep makes them more stressed and less focused. Now, the scenario is such that around 85% of working individuals consider quitting their job. They look to join a company that requires a shorter commute.

Supporting Mental Health At The Workplace Is Necessary

If you are an employer or the owner of a company, the first and foremost thing that you need to take into account is the betterment of an employee’s physical as well as mental health. As discussed before, although physical fitness is considered significant, mental well-being gets ignored quite often. It’s your fundamental responsibility to ensure that a worker is doing well in all aspects and is mentally satisfied. If the working professionals are having issues with commuting over vast distances, then you are the one who can make things easier for them, of course keeping the company policies in mind.

It’s mandatory to look after if they are having all sorts of facilities since they are the ones who are delivering for you. Remember, your workforce is the primary reason why your organization is propelling forward.

Proper mental health is a must if anyone has to succeed in any walk of life. One must never get engaged in anything that doesn’t make them mentally satisfied. In case traveling for long hours to the office is doing you no good, you can consider changing your job location or take up something that’s at a close distance from where you live. The final decision is yours.