Over HALF of UK employees receive no support for stressful commutes. Are you one of them?
As National Work Life Week approaches in October, a new survey* of 2,000 full-time workers by Moneybarn, reveals excessive time spent commuting is one of the main factors contributing to work-life balance problems.
The research shows the average “working day” in the UK is 11 hours and over half (57%) of the workforce aren’t offered any support to ease stressful, long commutes.
Research by the University of the West of England has found every extra minute spent commuting reduces job and leisure time satisfaction and a Vitality Health study shows workers with long commutes are 33% more likely to suffer from depression.
Welsh workers receive the least support from their employers; 70% believe they are not offered anything to make commuting less stressful. The South West (65%), East Midlands (65%) and East of England (64%) also have below average scores.
| Region | Highest percentage of employees who feel they receive no support for commuter stress |
| Wales | 70% |
| South-West | 65% |
| East-Midlands | 65% |
| East of England | 64% |
| North-West | 60% |
In comparison, only 33% of Londoners feel they aren’t offered any support. Northern Irish businesses are the second best overall, with only 35% feeling they aren’t offered any alternative solutions to make commuting less stressful.
| Region | Lowest percentage of employees who feel they receive no support for commuter stress |
| London | 33% |
| Northern Ireland | 35% |
| North-East | 55% |
| South-East | 57% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | 58% |
Moneybarn’s survey also asked employees exactly what they were being offered from their businesses which did offer support, with some fairly lukewarm results.
| Commuter support across the UK overall | % |
| Flexible working | 21% |
| Duvet days | 4% |
| Season ticket loans | 11% |
| Car sharing schemes | 6% |
| Company minibus (e.g. to the station) | 4% |
| The ability to work from home | 13% |
| Subsidised transport costs | 6% |
While flexible working is becoming more popular in many businesses, with every employee** now having the legal right to request flexible working from their employer, only 21% across the UK are offered this to avoid peak commuting hours.
Employers in the East Midlands and the East of England perform the worst when it comes to flexible working opportunities (15% and 16% respectively). Northern Ireland has the best score, with 37% offering this as a solution to commuter stress.
When looking at the UK as a whole, only 11% of employees are offered season tickets and just 6% are given subsidised transport.
