Much like the majority of Americans, you probably have to make a rather lengthy commute to and from work each day. In fact, when you get into your car each morning, you are most likely worrying about traffic conditions, gas prices and what needs to be done over the course of the impending workday. However, a new study reveals that you may also have to start worrying about divorce.
According to Swedish researchers, those who commute long distances to and from their place of employment are 40 percent more likely to secure a divorce. They arrived at this conclusion by examining married couples who are relatively new to the commuting process and who traveled lengthy distances to work via car or train.
Interestingly, the researchers also discovered:
- Men were less affected by longer commutes than women
- The risk of divorce is higher during the first years of marriage
“If you’ve certainly got a case where both parents are working and one parent has to commute and travel more and the other stay at home parent, be it the husband or the wife, has to work and take care of children, that’s trouble,” said Tamara Mitchel, a divorce attorney based in New York.
The natural assumption after reading the results of the Swedish study is that those on the other end of the employment/commuting spectrum – meaning those who work from home or “telecommute” – would have far lower rates of divorce.
According to the experts, however, this is not necessarily true. In fact, those who work from home may experience even higher rates of divorce. The reason? The sudden loss of personal space may simply prove to be too much for many couples.
“All of a sudden a marriage where one of the parties was out of the house a solid twelve hours a day are now in the house and that is putting a greater stress on the marriages that I see in divorce,” said divorce attorney Alayne Katz.
Stay tuned for more from our Ft. Worth family law blog …
To learn more about dissolution of marriage or life after divorce, contact an experienced legal or financial professional.
This post is for informational purposes only and is not to be construed as legal advice.
Related Resources:
Study: Long commute could lead to divorce, separation (CBS 2 – NY)
