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Correlational findings

Study Frey et al. (2004): study XZ Germany West 1985

Public
Adults, general public, Germany 1985-1998
Sample
Respondents
N = 27015
Non Response
Assessment
Interview: face-to-face

Correlate

Authors's Label
Commuting time
Our Classification
Distribution
Average commuting time=23 min. Median commuting time= 20 min. More than 1 hour commuting time= 5,4%
Operationalization
Self report on single question:
How long does it naturally take you to go all the way from your home to your place of work using the most direct route? (One way only)
1. 0-10 min
2. 11-20 min
3. 21-30 min
4. more than 30 min

Observed Relation with Happiness

Happiness Measure Statistics Elaboration / Remarks O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d DM = - Average life satisfaction
1. 0-10 min           7,24
4. more than 30 min   7,00
difference           -0,24
O-SLW-c-sq-n-11-d b = -.01 B= -0,007

B controlled for
-Age
-Age2
-Gender
-Years of education, ln
-Children
-Head of household
-Child of head of household
-Marital status
-Spouse living abroad
-No. Of household members
-Employment status
-West/East Germany
-National
-EU foreigner
-Other foreigner
-Year

People commuting one hour report 0,31 points lower on 0-10 happiness than employed people who do not commute.

More negative among people pursuing extrinsic goals (income, influence on political decisions and career success) than among people pursuing intrinsic goals (family, friends, faith and religion).

Income not controlled, which suggests that income gains due to commuting do not compensate the happiness loss of commuting