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Commuting and Sickness Absence

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  • Goerke, Laszlo

    (IAAEU, University of Trier)

  • Lorenz, Olga

    (IAAEU, University of Trier)

Abstract

We investigate the causal effect of commuting on sickness absence from work using German panel data. To address reverse causation, we use changes in commuting distance for employees who stay with the same employer and who have the same residence during the period of observation. In contrast to previous papers, we do not observe that commuting distances are associated with higher sickness absence, in general. Only employees who commute long distances are absent about 20% more than employees with no commutes. We explore various explanations for the effect of long distance commutes to work and can find no evidence that it is due to working hours mismatch, lower work effort, reduced leisure time or differences in health status.

Suggested Citation

  • Goerke, Laszlo & Lorenz, Olga, 2017. "Commuting and Sickness Absence," IZA Discussion Papers 11183, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp11183
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    Cited by:

    1. Shvartsman, Elena & Beckmann, Michael, 2015. "Stressed by your job: What is the role of personnel policy?," Working papers 2015/15, Faculty of Business and Economics - University of Basel.
    2. J. I. Gimenez-Nadal & J. A. Molina & J. Velilla, 2022. "Commuting time and sickness absence of US workers," Empirica, Springer;Austrian Institute for Economic Research;Austrian Economic Association, vol. 49(3), pages 691-719, August.
    3. Giménez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto & Velilla, Jorge, 2022. "Trends in commuting time of European workers: A cross-country analysis," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C), pages 327-342.
    4. María José Suárez & Cristina Muñiz, 2018. "Unobserved heterogeneity in work absence," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 19(8), pages 1137-1148, November.
    5. Lorenz, Olga, 2018. "Does commuting matter to subjective well-being?," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 180-199.
    6. Gimenez-Nadal, José Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto & Velilla, Jorge, 2018. "Commuting Time and Sick-Day Absence of US Workers," IZA Discussion Papers 11700, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Murong Guo & Kuang Tang & Zicheng Wang, 2020. "Commuting time and sickness absence in China: Rural/urban variations and Hukou impacts," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 31(1), pages 76-95, March.
    8. MORIKAWA Masayuki, 2018. "Long Commuting Time and the Benefits of Telecommuting," Discussion papers 18025, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    9. Mark L. Bryan & Andrew M. Bryce & Jennifer Roberts, 2021. "The effect of mental and physical health problems on sickness absence," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 22(9), pages 1519-1533, December.
    10. Olga Lorenz, 2017. "Does Commuting Matter to Subjective Well-Being?," IAAEU Discussion Papers 201707, Institute of Labour Law and Industrial Relations in the European Union (IAAEU).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    sickness absence; absenteeism; commuting; health; labour supply;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I10 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - General
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • R2 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis
    • R40 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - General

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