Abstract

Changing work arrangements in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic are affecting working hours and commutes with potential effects on work-life balance and well-being. The effects of long commutes and work hours on stress and other health outcomes are well-established, but these effects have been studied separately in different disciplines. To examine the joint effects of long commutes and work hours, we analyzed data from the 2011 Work, Family and Health Study. Study data were self-reported from 373 full-time IT employees in the US with children living at home. We analyzed effects of work hours and commute time on five stress-related outcomes: work burnout, work-family conflict, time inadequacy, sleep insufficiency, and perceived stress using multivariable regression, stratified by gender, and controlling for worker job position and race/ethnicity. Longer work hours were associated with work burnout, work-family conflict, time inadequacy, and sleep insufficiency but not perceived stress. Longer combined work and commute hours were associated with marginally higher levels of stress, but this effect was markedly higher when the combined hours exceeded a threshold of 60 hours per week. Women indicated greater work burnout, work-family conflict, time inadequacy, and perceived stress. Changes in work and commuting in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic provide an opportunity to address the additive impact of long commutes and work hours on parental well-being, and particularly women workers.