We all know that spending hours commuting sucks—it's not only expensive, it can also take its toll on your health. A happiness researcher has quantified just how much happier we could be if we cut our commutes: about $40,000 happier.
The number comes from National Geographic fellow and author of Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way Dan Buettner. In an interview with NPR, Buettner says:
When you look at Americans' day-to-day activity ... the top two things we hate the most on a day-to-day basis is, No. 1: housework and No. 2: the daily commute in our cars. In fact, if you can cut an hourlong commute each way out of your life, it's the [happiness] equivalent of making up an extra $40,000 a year if you're at the $50- to $60,000 level. Huge ... [So] it's an easy way for us to get happier. Move closer to your place of work.
I'm not sure how he calculated these figures, except that this is part of a five-year study on the residents living in some of the world's happiest places. Other surveys have shown, though, that people would give up a 10 percent raise if it meant being able to work two or three days from home.
Either way, moving closer to work or working from home can clearly boost our happiness.