A 45-minute commute 'could mean you are on road to divorce'

Researchers in Sweden have carried out the study and found that people who spend a long time -- 45 minutes or more -- on trains or buses or stuck in cars shuttling to office are up to 40 per cent more likely to split from their spouse.

The risk is highest in the first few years of marriage when the dream of life together gives way to the daily grind, the study has found.

According to the researchers, if one partner -- most likely the husband -- spends 45 minutes or more commuting they would come home too tired to help around the house. This would create a "breeding ground for conflict" which would leave the other person feeling like they are being taken for granted.

"To be able to commute to work can be a positive thing because it means you don't have to uproot your family with every career move but it can also be a strain on your relationship," study's lead author Erika Sandow said.

The study by Umea University looked at statistical data from nearly two million Swedish households between 1995 and 2000; the researchers cited the figure of 45 minutes as the kind of commute which could do damage to relationships.

They found that in families where the man commutes, the woman is often forced to take a less qualified job closer to home, that which means both less money as well as a larger share of the responsibility for kids and household, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

In the first few years of marriage the risk of divorce is 40 per cent higher if one partner has to travel to work.

"One of the long-term risks with commuting is that it can sustain gender-based stereotypes both at home and in the labour market," lead author Erika Sandow said.

Added relationships expert Jean Hannah Edelstein: "The commuting partner, who's more likely to be male, may feel like he should not have to take on equal responsibility around the home as he putting in the long hours back and forth to work.

"But the partner who is home more might then feel she is has been forced to take on too much responsibility and is being pushed into a more traditional female role. This sounds to me like a breeding ground for conflict."