Commuting to Job (Dis)satisfaction? Examining the Roles of Labour Market Returns and Adverse Working Conditions using German Panel Data

Abstract In this paper, we analyse how differences in daily commuting duration relate to job satisfaction. In doing so, we contribute to the literature in two ways: First, while most previous studies have relied on cross-sectional data, we use longitudinal data and focus on intra-individual differences, allowing us to better address selection into commuting and (time-constant) unobserved heterogeneity. Second, the mechanisms through which commuting duration influences job satisfaction have rarely been studied. Focussing on work-related mechanisms and referring to approaches from economics and work and occupational health sciences, we take a first step and examine two groups of potential mediating factors: labour market returns and adverse working conditions. Our analyses are based on biennial panel data from the German BAuA-Working Time Survey for the period 2015 to 2023. We apply both pooled OLS and fixed-effects regression models and, as potential mediators, we include different indicators for labour market returns (wages and qualification matching) and for adverse working conditions (deadline and performance pressure, poor social support at work and work-related emotional exhaustion). Our findings show that longer commuting durations are associated with reduced job satisfaction. While the labour market returns examined do not seem to account for this relationship, adverse working conditions that accompany longer commutes can potentially explain part of the negative association between commuting duration and job satisfaction. Robustness checks confirm that the results are not driven by part-time workers and remain evident across different time periods, but reveal that commuting is more consequential for job satisfaction among less-educated workers.