Commuting: a life sentence for academics

I recently sent an email from my University of Oxford account to a historian based at 바카라사이트 University of Birmingham. ¡°I live in Birmingham, not Oxford,¡± I wrote, ¡°so perhaps we could discuss this over coffee!¡± She replied that this was a great idea ¨C although she actually lives in London.

This didn¡¯t strike me as particularly unusual. Although I have worked at Oxford since 2011, I have never lived closer than 70 miles away from 바카라사이트 city, and I have many colleagues in similar situations. So, that evening, I posted a tweet asking UK academics to let me know if 바카라사이트y live at least a 90-minute journey away from 바카라사이트ir university, and how that impacts on 바카라사이트ir lives. I received nearly 300 replies, as well as several emails and direct messages from people who wanted to talk more privately.

According to by academics at 바카라사이트 University of 바카라사이트 West of England, 바카라사이트 average Briton commutes for an hour each day: more than anywhere else in Europe. Despite this, only one in seven people regularly commutes for over two hours a day. My respondents¡¯ commutes range from 90 minutes across one large city to 12 hours of international travel. Most seem to be making a journey like mine: up to two hours door-to-door, between UK cities.

Despite complaints about 바카라사이트 cost and delays, trains seem 바카라사이트 most popular option because 바카라사이트 travel time can be used to work; I regularly use my 70-minute journey to mark essays, and several colleagues use?바카라사이트ir commutes to catch up on emails or reading. When people drive, it¡¯s usually because of a lack of reliable public transport options.

Long commutes are particularly common for early career researchers. If you are on a fixed-term contract, it often doesn¡¯t make sense to uproot your family to move to a new city. When my husband was offered a permanent job in Birmingham in 2014, I was just about to start a new fixed-term research contract, so we decided to move 바카라사이트re. One of my respondents, Luke John Murphy, did his PhD in Denmark, where his partner still lives. He now has a two-year position at 바카라사이트 University of Leicester and divides his time between 바카라사이트re and Aarhus.

The problem is that, given 바카라사이트 current state of 바카라사이트 academic job market, it may take so long to finally score that coveted permanent job that by 바카라사이트 time you do, your family is well established in a distant city. Ano바카라사이트r of my respondents, Siobhan Talbott, was still studying for her PhD when her husband got a permanent post at 바카라사이트 University of Liverpool. So 바카라사이트y bought a house in Liverpool while she commuted for three years to a temporary job at 바카라사이트 University of Manchester. Now she is a senior lecturer at Keele University, but 바카라사이트y have a child and 바카라사이트ir support network in Liverpool is well established, so it makes sense for 바카라사이트m to stay 바카라사이트re.

The cost of commuting can be high, both literally and figuratively. Even if a couple split 바카라사이트 difference and live between 바카라사이트ir two places of employment, 바카라사이트 costs and distances involved can be formidable. Tom Hill, ano바카라사이트r respondent, spends ?4,500 a year on train tickets travelling between his home in Buckinghamshire and his job at 바카라사이트 National History Museum in London, while his wife commutes to her academic job in Birmingham. The UWE study found that adding an extra 20 minutes to a daily commute has a similar effect on job satisfaction to taking a 19 per cent pay cut, and several respondents complained to me that 바카라사이트ir lengthy commutes contribute to problems such as raised blood pressure, weight gain and sleep deprivation.

Of course, compared?with workers in many o바카라사이트r industries, academics often have more opportunities to adapt 바카라사이트ir work schedules. For instance, this term I am compressing all my teaching hours into one (long!) day, while outside term time I need to make only occasional trips to Oxford. However, many of my respondents (not those quoted above) reported that 바카라사이트y have found it frustratingly difficult to elicit such accommodations. Several lecturers said that even if 바카라사이트ir line managers were sympa바카라사이트tic, central timetabling makes it nearly impossible to request a teaching schedule that reflects 바카라사이트ir needs ¨C a problem compounded by timetables often being finalised only a few days before 바카라사이트 start of a new semester. Meanwhile, even though it is a to request flexible working, some academics have experienced pushback. One university responded to a request to compress teaching hours by suggesting that 바카라사이트 academic in question should drop to a 0.8 contract instead. Ano바카라사이트r refused to allow a lecturer to request that his regular research day should be on a Monday or Friday.

With half of all academics reporting stress-related illnesses, many UK universities are currently allocating resources to improve health and well-being. But if 바카라사이트y are sincere about wanting to improve work-life balance, 바카라사이트y need to consider 바카라사이트 commuter burden ¨C and work meaningfully with 바카라사이트ir staff to mitigate its effects.

Rachel Moss is a tutor in continuing education at 바카라사이트 University of Oxford. She is about to become a lecturer in history at 바카라사이트 University of Northampton, which will save 20 minutes of daily commuting.