Member-only story
Changing Your Reference Point Can Drastically Improve Your Commute
The average commute to work in the US is about half an hour (26.9 minutes to be exact, according to the US Census Bureau), and is getting longer every year. To make matters worse, the majority of commuters — 57% of us — leave home right when traffic is heaviest. It’s likely no surprise that commuting in traffic is not an experience that people find delightful.
What may be surprising, however, is that the commute is rated the most miserable part of the day on average, ranking below even housework. Economists Alois Stutzer and Bruno Frey found that in order to compensate for the blow to one’s subjective well-being as a result of commuting, someone would require a 40% salary increase to offset an hour’s worth of commuting. Of course, people are rarely compensated for their commuting sacrific.
Commuting is no picnic for either drivers or passengers, but it takes its biggest toll on drivers. Despite the fact that driving often feels automatic, it puts a strain on your cognitive resources; to drive safely, it takes a significant supply of constant attention. (And when that attention degrades, like when you divide your focus to talk on the phone — even hands-free — that’s when you get into accidents). The type of effortful attention required by driving is part of what makes it unpleasant, even when you are making…
