Divorce Linked to Long Commutes

 Posted on August 20, 2013 in Divorce

Having a long drive to and from work could be one reason your marriage is on the rocks. According to new research, conducted by Swedish Umea University affiliate Erica Sandow and reported by the Huffington Post, “people who commute at least 45 minutes one-way to work are more likely to divorce than people who have shorter daily commutes.” The study tracked millions of people in Sweden for 10 years, beginning in 1995. “Sandow focused on people who were married or living with a partner for her research [and] found that around 11 percent of the couples she studied had split by 2000, and more commuter couples separated than those who worked close to home,” according to the Huffington Post. The statistics are pretty bleak—14 percent of couples in which either person had a 45-minute or longer commute broke up, compared to only 10 percent of those in which neither person had a long commute. It seems that the research is skewed over time, however. Sandow found that if the person who had the long drive to work had been doing so for more than five years (if their relationship made it past that crucial marker), then they were only one percent more likely to divorce than couples in which neither person had a long commute. This is bad news for Americans, and could be one contributing factor as to why the divorce rate is so high in the U.S. According to Forbes, a 2013 U.S. Census Bureau report found that “10.8 million people, or 8.1 percent of workers, commute an hour or more to work each way. What’s more, 600,000 are classified as ‘mega-commuters,’ traveling 90 minutes or more and at least 50 miles to get into the office.” This is twice as long as the threshold Sandow was studying that linked long commutes to marital dysfunction. If you or someone you know is having trouble in marriage, whether you believe a long commute is a factor or not, it could be time to sit down with a qualified professional to discuss your options. Contact an experienced Chicago-area family law attorney today.