Commuting time and job satisfaction among urban employees in china: Evidence from three waves of the China family panel studies

The relationship between daily commuting and job satisfaction has received increasing attention, as the commuting time of Chinese employees has gradually increased and longer commutes have been associated with poorer physical and mental health. As an important dimension of employees’ subjective well-being, job satisfaction is an important indicator of employment quality. With the rapid development of urbanization in China, increasing commuting times have become an important component of employees’ work experience. Using pooled data from the 2018, 2020, and 2022 waves of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this study examines the association between commuting time and job satisfaction using ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and complementary model specifications. Several robustness checks were conducted to assess the stability of the estimated association. A longer commuting time was negatively and statistically significantly associated with employees’ job satisfaction. Weekly working time and work income were examined as two potential compensatory indirect pathways. A longer commuting time was associated with shorter weekly working time and higher work income, and the resulting indirect associations partially offset the negative association between commuting time and job satisfaction. Moreover, the negative association between commuting time and job satisfaction was weaker among formally employed workers than among informally employed workers. These findings highlight the relevance of considering the time required to access employment alongside workplace conditions when assessing employees’ work experience.