News

Tuesday 24 January 2006

Study to target root of commuting stress

The first ever nationwide study of the major causes of commuting stress is being launched at Nottingham Trent University. Commuters are being asked to respond to an online survey as part of the project, which aims to discover how people cope with commuting stress on a daily basis and how it affects their health.

The survey, which is completed anonymously, can be completed at http://tinyurl.com/ba8gx. Respondents will be able to answer the questionnaire between Wednesday, February 1 and Friday, March 31.

One of the key aims is to find out whether people’s experiences of commuting are affected by the threat of terrorism, particularly since last year’s London bombings. The survey is aimed at commuters who use any form of transport to and from work, such as travelling on foot, by bike, car, tram, ferry, bus or train.

Dr Glenn Williams and Ms Rowena Hill, experts in psychology of stress and trauma, from the University’s School of Social Sciences, have set a list of almost 200 questions.

Dr Williams said: “Previous research has shown that commuting often brings about the same physical responses in us than if we were going into battle. We want to see how commuting affects people’s physical and emotional well being. Most importantly, we are interested in finding out the secrets to a relatively stress-free commute – is it found through going in your own car, walking or public transport?

“We want to capture the diversity of the nation’s commuting experiences to provide the authoritative guide on what works to help commuters cope with the stress of getting to and from work.”

Ms Hill added: “We also want to find out whether a stress-free commute is due to someone’s state of mind or the conditions of travelling and whether effective coping with commuting stress is linked to personality. The findings will help inform us about appropriate public transportation policies and employment practices so that commuters get a better quality of life.”

ENDS

For more information please contact:

Dave Rogers, Press Officer, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 2650 or via email: dave.rogers@ntu.ac.uk.

Or Therese Easom, Press and Media Relations Manager, on telephone +44 (0)115 848 6589 or via email: therese.easom@ntu.ac.uk.