Exploring stressors and resources of daily commuting by train in Luxembourg: A mixed-methods-study

Einleitung:

Commuting has been studied in several ways in the past with most studies demonstrating rather negative consequences for the commuters. Yet, there are also some studies highlighting potential beneficial effects of daily commuting. In our study, we aim to clarify what contributes to daily commuting by train as being harmful or beneficial to the wellbeing of employees. We do this by identifying aspects of the commute that influence how commuting is experienced by the individual.

Methode:

The first part of our study consisted of 15 qualitative semi-standardized interviews with commuters in Luxembourg to explore aspects of everyday commuting and its impacts on health. The interviews were transcribed and evaluated with MaxQDA. In the second part of our study we contact 200 commuters with a quantitative questionnaire to validate results of the first phase of our study.

Ergebnisse:

In the qualitative interviews commuters introduced several stressors like bad structural conditions of the train, the reliability of the connection, organizational weaknesses, or personal factors. On the other hand, resources were identified like time for activities, less stress, security, or work related factors. The data of the second part of the study is currently collected and we hope to present first results at the congress.

Diskussion:

It turns out that the commuters describe diverse negative as well as positive aspects of daily commuting by train. The results of the quantitative survey will provide information about the generalizability of the qualitative results.