The mental Toll of Commuting: How to maximize your commute
According to one study, New Jersey residents who drive to work lose more than 100 hours a year sitting in traffic.
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New Jersey residents pay a literal Toll of Commuting whether they drive or take public transit. But ask any commuter - there’s also a mental toll that can be harder to balance.
According to one study, New Jersey residents who drive to work lose more than 100 hours a year sitting in traffic. That's the worst in the nation.
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Dr. Stephanie Marcello, the chief psychologist at Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care, says drivers won’t beat the system, but they can spend those hours more productively with a different mindset.
“I have no control over this,” Marcello said. “I have to commute every day. But what I do have control over is what I do on my commute.”
She says people who commute on public transportation have lower stress levels and anxiety than those who drive to work.
According to the last five years of Census Bureau data, the average New Jersey commute is just over half an hour - worse than the national average. But there are signs of change. More than 8% of commuters use public transit, and another 15% work from home. Both those figures are higher than the national average.
“These remote days really just help reduce stress significantly,” Marcello said. “And really, the research supports that.”
There are plenty of ways to maximize your transition time whether you ride or drive. On New Jersey Transit trains, the first and last cars are designated “quiet cars.”
“I've heard people say they would never have read all the books that they read had they not been on the train for all that time,” Marcello said.
Other commuters told us they spend their commuting time listening to podcasts, working on classwork or calling family.
