Wochenendpendeln von Erwerbstätigen in Deutschland: Analysen mit den Mikrozensen 1991 bis 2012

Abstract

Many employees must cope with long distances between their workplaces and residences. While some employees manage these distances via daily commuting, if distances are very large, employees may be required to relocate permanently (sometimes with their families) or to establish second homes closer to their workplaces. A typical form of the latter multi-local living arrangements is for the employee to live in their second home during the week and return to their primary (family) home for the weekend (weekend commute). Using data from the German Microcensus 1991-2012, this paper first examines changes over time in rates of weekend commuting among employees in Germany. Second, it explores socio-demographic characteristics related to weekend commuting and whether gender differences exist. Results show continuously increasing rates of weekend commuting, rising from 0.34% in 1991 to 1.02% in 2008. Weekend commuting has thus approximately tripled, with a total of 339,000 weekend commuters in 2008. The number of impacted individuals doubles if weekend commuters’ partners and children are also considered. In contrast to the long-term trend, in 2012, reported rates of weekend commuting declined. We discuss how this drop may reflect a methodological bias rather than true decreases in weekend commuting. We observed gender differences in the factors contributing to weekend commuting, most notably the impacts of family living arrangements and occupational status. Compared to previous investigations of weekend commuting, the large sample size of the current analyses permitted identification of more nuanced relations among gender, age, geographic region, and other factors influencing weekend commuting choices.