How your commute is adding to your stress and burnout

Maybe it’s not your job that’s burning you out, maybe it’s getting to your job that’s burning you out.

There is now yet another study confirming what previous studies have proposed, which is that the stress in your life doesn’t just come from your job &#8212 it also comes from your commute.

In this latest study researchers at the University of Montreal linked commuting to burnout, which is defined as feeling emotionally drained, and cynical &#8212 to the point that you don’t care about anything outside yourself, and start goofing off at work.

And the longer the commute, the more burnout-inducing it was. Not just because of the time it takes, but because of the uncertainty &#8212 not knowing from day-to-day how long you’ll be stuck.

And it turns out that being in a carpool adds to the uncertainty because you’re at the mercy of whoever’s driving.

The data shows most people do fine with a 20 minute commute, but that after 35 minutes almost everyone develops a bad attitude.

And that’s not all.

A study from Washington University in St. Louis documented increased blood pressure in people who live more than 10 miles from work. It also found that people who commute more than 15 miles each way are much more likely to be obese.

But it’s not hopeless. According to one of those Swedish happiness studies, you’re happier about your commute if you’re commuting to a job you love as opposed to one you hate. And then there was the study which concluded that if you can eliminate your commute entirely, it would make you as happy as if you’d gotten a $40,000 raise.

So you see what the science is telling us. Get a job you love, and then just sleep at your desk.