Travelling time

The number of workers who commute daily for two hours or more has increased by a third in five years, a study shows. 3.7 million, or about one in seven, workers spent at least that time travelling to and from work in 2015 – an increase of 900,000 people. In 2010 just one in nine workers faced such a long commute. Stagnant wages and soaring housing costs blamed for pushing people further away from their jobs.

The TUC believes the increase is down to people being priced out of areas close to their jobs, as well as being due to a lack of investment in roads and railways which has increased journey times on increasingly dilapidated infrastructure.

Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise UK, said: “Long commutes have become a part of the UK’s working culture. The excessive time spent commuting is one of the main factors contributing to work-life balance problems. Not only is the amount of time commuting an issue, the nine to five culture with its peak travel times generates congestion on railways, underground and road networks, and as a consequence increases stress for commuters.”