Commuting is usually a very stressful activity: you get stuck in traffic, you sit for several minutes or even hours before you reach your destination, and you hear several types of noises and be with some people you don't want to associate with in the first place. By the time you've reached your home or office or wherever you want to be, you feel drained and be energized.
However, a study suggests that commuting can actually make you happy, and in case it initially doesn't, it suggests a very simple and effective method to achieve it: communicating.
In a recently published article in Mic.com, it introduced the study conducted by a team of researchers from the Booth School of Business of the University of Chicago.
As an experiment, the researchers created two groups who were then asked to take public transport on certain conditions. One of the groups had to ride them while communicating with the other passengers while the other needed to remain silent and isolated during the entire duration of the trip.
The findings of the study, which was later published in Journal of Experimental Psychology: General and in the school's website on July 2014, were not what the commuters initially expected. Those who were asked to talk with other passengers indicated they had enjoyed the ride more, contrary to their first belief or thinking. They liked the effects of communication-that is, being talked to and being the one to talk to others.
The researchers tried to provide an explanation for the results. It's highly possible that passengers who chose to remain quiet and isolated during their commute have the long-standing belief that no passenger may want to communicate with them. In other words, although many of these passengers may want to reach out to others, they shut themselves off because of the fear of being rejected.