A new survey* has revealed that the average Brit spends one week a year commuting to and from work, as well as paying £1,738 annually on travel costs.
The research, which polled 2,000 full-time, part-time, and self-employed people in the UK to discover more about their commuting and work from home habits, was carried out by matched betting specialists OddsMonkey.
It was found that the average full-time British worker who doesn’t work from home spends around 164 hours commuting to and from their workplace annually — almost one week per year**.
These employees are paying an average commuting cost of £1,738 per year, or £7.46 each working day. This cost represents a sizeable 6% chunk of annual pre-tax earnings to the typical Brit***. The research also found one in three employees found their daily commute to be a stressful experience.
The survey also asked participants about their attitudes to working from home: three quarters of workers would like to have the option to work from home, while 59% believe that they are more productive when they do.
The research found that some of the most popular perks of working at home are:
- Being able to wear what you want — 48%
- Having the ability to customise work environment more — 43%
- Being home to accept deliveries — 45%
- Spending time at home with family or pets — 39%
- Getting more time to do household chores — 37%
Peter Watton, spokesperson for OddsMonkey, commented: “The results show that the vast majority of UK workers are having to commit long stretches of time to getting to and from their workplace.
“And, with the daily commute proving to be both costly and stressful, on top of being a time sink, it’s little surprise that the majority of Brits would like to have the option to work from home. Our survey has also found that most people think that they work more productively from home, as well as being able to benefit from a variety of perks that make their life easier.
“We wouldn’t be surprised if more people found ways to reduce their daily commute in the future. This could be by finding jobs that provide more flexibility; going freelance; or working fewer hours and topping up earnings with a side hustle, such as matched betting.”
