Commute based learning: Integrating literature across transportation, education, and i-o psychology

Abstract

Though commuting is often seen as a source of stress, commuters may take advantage of travel time to pursue learning and developmental goals—a concept we refer to as Commute-Based Learning (CBL). We draw on self-regulation and learning and development theories to define CBL in terms of its context, content, and process and present the findings of a systematic review of multitasking activities in the transportation literature. This review demonstrates that (a) travel-based activities related to learning are increasingly prevalent, (b) people enjoy being productive during their commutes, and (c) commute mode and environmental characteristics impact multitasking and evaluations of the commute itself. We then integrate these review findings with psychological theories to propose a framework specifying the predictors of CBL, its benefits, and drawbacks, and the commute mode's moderating influence. These efforts yield several practical implications and future research directions to increase CBL's potential benefits while reducing potential harm. Plain Language Summary Although commuting can often be a source of stress, commuters may also take advantage of travel time to pursue learning and developmental goals—a concept we refer to as Commute-Based Learning (CBL).To emphasize the potential benefits and pitfalls of CBL, we draw on learning and development, self-regulation, multiple-goal pursuit, and multiple resource theories to define CBL in terms of its context (where it occurs), content (what it includes), and process (how it is done). Next, we present the findings of a systematic review ofresearch on multitasking activities in the transportation literature to gather evidence of the learning activities that commuters may pursue.This review demonstrates that (a) travel-based activities related to learning are increasingly prevalent, (b) people enjoy being productive during their commutes, and (c)commute mode and environmental characteristics impact multitasking and evaluations of the commute itself. We then integrate these findings from the transportation literature with psychological theories to propose a framework specifying the predictors of CBL (individual and organizational), its benefits (expertise, need satisfaction and well-being) and drawbacks (depletion, reduced safety), and the critical role of commute mode as a moderator of these relationships. Our definition and framework of CBL inform practical implications for improving the benefits of learning during the commute, while mitigating its potential drawbacks. We also present suggested directions for future multidisciplinary research. We hope this review provides insight into the state of the literature on commute-based learning and a clear research agenda for advancement in this broadly important, yet underdeveloped area.