The Psychological Benefits of Commuting to Work

“Overslept, so tired.

If late, get fired.

Why bother? Why the pain?

Just go home, do it again.”

--The Commuter’s lament inscribed in New York City’s 42nd Street Station

Daily commute seemed to be the bane of our existence till the pandemic bonded us to our homes.

• During/After the pandemic, many people who have lost their daily commute experience have felt a void.
• Without commute, there are no beginnings or endings. Life is continuously happening.
• “No commute may be hurting, not helping, remote worker productivity,” a Microsoft report warned last fall.
• Without commute, employees are burnt out with no separation between life and work.

• Throughout history, humans have shown a willingness to spend roughly 60 minutes a day in transit.
• Known as Marchetti’s Constant, 60 minutes are usually understood to describe what people will endure as commute.
• The reason why people might like longer commute are: the feeling of control in one’s own car; the time to plan, to decompress, to make calls, to listen to audiobooks.
• As per research, the commute has some “Positive utility.”

In order to make up for role spillover due to lack of commute, you can:

• Match your surroundings with the task at hand
• Create a soothing ritual to transition between life and work.

”Rituals are friction, they slow us down. They’re so antithetical to most of our life, which is all about efficiency and speed.”

• Use Technology’s help. Microsoft’s SwitchBot (2017) poses simple questions to help transition into productive work mode and to detach at day’s end