A few years ago researchers studied the impact cycling to work had on employees emotional wellbeing.  They found that typically cyclists were less stressed than their non-cycling colleagues.

They declared “Generally car and public transport users suffered more everyday stress, poorer sleep quality, exhaustion and, on a seven point scale, felt that they struggled with their health compared to the active commuters.”

Grounds enough you would think for managers to encourage their staff to ride to work.  A study I came across today suggests that managers might not need to be quite so blatant in their efforts.

It reveals that cycling to work is a contagious activity, and it can rapidly spread throughout a workforce.

“Social influences are important, specifically interpersonal influences, such as spouses and co-workers,” says Melissa Bopp, assistant professor of kinesiology at Penn State.

In addition to looking at the viral nature of cycling, the study also explored the kinds of people that ride in each day.  It found some fascinating trends.  For instance married people are more likely to cycle to work than single people.

Interestingly, if you have a spouse that cycles to work, or even colleagues that cycle in, you are much more likely to do so yourself.

Negative influences on cycling behaviours

A number of factors were found to contribute to someone choosing to not cycle to work, including:

• Body mass index
• Number of children
• Number of cars in the household

The report also found a number of positive influencers.  For instance, living in a community that supports cycling to work has a big impact, as does working for an employer that is supportive.  People were also more likely to ride in if they were confident in their cycling skills.

Participants in the study were asked how they traveled to work whether or not their spouse and coworkers influenced their choice on how they traveled to/from work, if their employer supported actively commuting, how confident they were with their cycling skills, and how bicycle-friendly their community is.