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Commuter Stress Leads to Employment Stress

31st July 2019

Workers all over the country are considering quitting their jobs to avoid rising commute times. Although exact times vary depending on work and home locations, it is estimated that workers are spending an average of 4.5 hours commuting to and from their jobs.

A recent HILDA report, based on data from 2017, found that, in a large number of cases, those who wish to change jobs are the same people who are commuting for a longer period of time. 

Although bumper-to-bumper traffic can definitely impact travel time, the rise in house pricing is also to blame. Many families are looking in the suburbs to find affordable homes which, for some, pushes them further away from where they need to be for work. 

Statistics show that a male tradie with two dependant kids is the most likely to have a lengthy commute. In fact, the HILDA report found that tradies are indeed at the top of the long commute list, with sales workers being on the opposite end. 

Melbourne-based electrician, Alex Gray, says that he has to travel approximately 1000km per week for his work. He adds that although better public transport might be helpful for office workers, it would not be the answer for tradies. “In my case it wouldn’t help at all. There’s predominantly two waves of traffic each day, and there will be a time from 5:00am to maybe 7:00am where it will be all trades vehicles. Every one will be a ute. So for those trades vehicles I don’t see any other way. You need your vehicles. You need your equipment where you’re going to be.”