Crowded public transport, long commutes top stressors for Seoul, Gyeonggi workers: survey

Workers living in Seoul identified crowded public transportation as their biggest stressor, according to a survey conducted on Wednesday.

The survey, carried out by online recruiting company Job Korea, polled 1,010 people nationwide on the current status of work commutes this month. The survey revealed that the average commute from home to work takes 48.4 minutes per day.

By region, those living in Gyeonggi Province had the longest average commute at 58.2 minutes, followed by Seoul residents at 46.8 minutes. Residents outside of the capital region reported a significantly shorter average commute of 34.5 minutes.

When asked about their level of stress during commuting, workers in Gyeonggi Province reported the highest average stress level at 6.7 out of 10. Seoul commuters followed closely with a stress level of 6.5, while residents outside the capital region reported a stress level of 5.9.

For Seoul residents, 55.9 percent of respondents cited crowded buses and subways as their biggest stressor on the way to work. For those living in Gyeonggi Province, their top stress factor was the long distance between home and workplace, affecting 31.3 percent of respondents. Outside of the capital region, the primary stressor was the fear of being late, reported by 25.9 percent of participants.

During their commute, the majority of workers (59.7 percent) listen to music. Other common activities include watching YouTube or using social media (23 percent), texting friends (11.6 percent), watching the news (11.1 percent) and playing games (6.1 percent).

The vast majority of Korea's workers rely on public transportation, with only 21.6 percent driving to work.