Brits' least favourite things about commuting

22/07/2025

With searches on Google for ‘return to office’ increasing by 12% in the last year in the UK, for many British workers, there is a shift suggesting a “great return” to the office.  

Although it is a necessity for many, there’s no denying the daily commute brings many eye-rolling, deep breath-inducing, frustrating moments.

To analyse how the British workforce truly feels about their commute and heading into the office, we surveyed 2,000 British workers to understand the thoughts of those who are back at their desks more in 2025. 

In addition to this, we split the data regionally and by industry, to breakdown the key differences across the nation both by location and sector.

The UK’s biggest commuting pet peeves

Although the UK has seen a shift from fully in-person working to a more relaxed hybrid working model since the pandemic, millions of Brits are faced with a daily commute at least once a week.

Unfortunately for more than half of British commuters (51%), travelling into work means pet peeves are experienced at least once a week, with a quarter (24%) claiming they experience these pet peeves multiple times in a single week.

The top 10 biggest commuting pet peeves according to British workers:

1. Speaking loudly on the phone – 42% 

2. Playing music out loud – 39% 

3. Sneezing/coughing without covering your face – 34% 

4. Feet on seats – 29% 

5. Eating/chewing loudly – 24% 

6. Anti-social behaviour – 22% 

7. Sitting next to someone even when there’s other seats available (lack of personal space) - 20% 

8. Leaving rubbish behind – 18% 

9. Not waiting in turn – 17% 

10. Eating pungent food – 14% 

Speaking loudly on the phone was the highest-ranking commuting pet peeve, with almost half (42%) of British workers claiming this annoys them the most on the way into work.

If you don’t use headphones on public transport already, you may want to reconsider – as the second biggest pet peeve was playing music out loud, with two in five (39%) voted as their biggest annoyance. A trend also known amongst the younger generations as “bare beating”.

More than a third (34%) found people who don’t cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze to be a nuisance on the way in to work, putting this unhygienic lack of etiquette at third place on the pet peeves list.

While feet on seats were voted for by three in 10 (29%) as their biggest annoyance on the commute, eating and chewing loudly completes the top five with a quarter (24%) of British commuters voting for this as their biggest pet peeve.

Anti-social behaviour was a problem for less than a quarter (22%) who voted, while the biggest pet peeve for one in five (20%) were commuters who choose to sit next to them despite other seats being available.

Rounding off the top 10 biggest pet peeves analysed in our study was leaving rubbish behind (18%), not waiting in turn (17%) and eating pungent food (14%) – maybe leave the tuna sandwich until you get into the office.

How do we react to commuting pet peeves?

According to our survey, there’s hardly any working Brits who have never had to deal with commuting pet peeves, with just seven in every 100 (7%) working Brits saying they’ve never once commuted.

However, for the majority of working Brits unlucky enough to have to endure this, there are differing responses for how we deal with commuting pet peeves.

Around a third of commuters (31%) say they would react simply by sitting in silence but filled in anger.

There are more confident commuters among us though, as one in 10 (10%) would confront the person who is causing annoyance on the commute and ask them for an explanation into their behaviour.

Just less than one in five commuting Brits (18%) would say something under their breath and out of sight, as not to cause a scene, and one in 20 (5%) would even go as far as to take a photo or video of the annoyance.

How do Britons commute to work in 2025? 

Our working habits and lifestyles are constantly evolving as time progresses, with a quarter of working Brits (25%) saying they don’t commute on a weekly basis. 

However, for those that do, the most popular way to travel to a place of work by public transport is by taking a train, with half of working Brits (50%) claiming they use the rail to get to work. 

One in six (16%) said they spend between £31-75 a week a train travel – which based on the statutory holiday entitlement within the UK of 5.6 weeks per year, works out at somewhere just over £1,400 and under £3,500 a year. 

Another popular mode of public transport was other forms of light rail such as the tube or tram, with over a third (36%) saying this was their most popular mode of transport for getting into the workplace. 

Overall, the most popular form of transport was unsurprisingly by car, with more than three quarters of British workers (76%) saying they drive to work – the largest of any transport method. 

One in 10 workers (10%) who drive to work spend at least £50 a week on their car, meaning this portion of drivers spend at least £2,300 on just getting to work – that’s before considering other driving costs such as insurance or leisurely driving costs. 

What are our biggest gripes about going into the office?

When considering other reasons for not wanting to commute into the office, there were a variety of reasons that British workers put this down to:

The top 10 reasons Brits don’t like going into the office:

1. Travel time – 32%

2. Earlier start and less sleep – 28%

3. Travel cost – 28%

4. The commute itself – 25%

5. Weather – 21%

6. I don’t have any gripes – 16%

7. Office environment and noise – 12%

8. Lack of flexibility – 11%

9. Getting dressed in the morning – 11%

10. Lack of privacy – 9%

Understandably, the travel time was a main concern for the majority of working Brits, with a third (32%) putting this down to the time lost from travelling into the office.

The earlier start time and less sleep was a cause of concern for just under three in 10 (28%), with the same amount of workers citing travel cost as one of their biggest gripes about going into the office.

For a quarter of working Brits (25%), the biggest issue cited on our survey was down to the commute itself, which when considering the reasons listed earlier in this study, it’s pretty clear to see why it might be such an issue!

Completing the top five was the Great British weather, which for more than one in five (21%) was highlighted as their biggest annoyance.

Interestingly though, one in six working Brits (16%) claimed they didn’t have any gripes about going into the office.

Our research also found that one in nine (11%) put their biggest annoyance down to getting dressed in the morning – totally understandable on a cold winter’s morning!

How do thoughts on commuting compare regionally? 

The breakdown of our thoughts on the commute nationally paints a completely varied picture depending on where you are located. 

The residents of Newcastle for example, are the most likely to have committed a commuting pet peeve, with more than a quarter (27%) of residents admitting to doing one of the pet peeves listed within this study. 

Those hailing from Edinburgh however are the politest, with fewer than one in 11 (9%) stating they had, the lowest total recorded in the study.  

In addition to this, Edinburgh recorded the highest total score for a single commuting pet peeve, with around half (48%) saying their biggest annoyance is people playing music out loud. 

Staying within Scotland, Glaswegians are the most confident in the UK when it comes to approaching someone who is aggravating them whilst committing a commuting pet peeve – with more than a fifth (21%) of residents saying they would ask the person for an explanation. 

Residents of Norwich are the calmest when experiencing a commuting pet peeve, with just under two in five (37%) saying they would simply do nothing. 

Liverpudlians are the biggest in-person workers in the UK, with 17 out of 20 workers (85%) saying they commute at least once a week. Whereas on the other hand, Bristolians are the biggest remote workers, with two in five (39%) saying they don’t commute to a place of work at least once a week. 

The most prominent gripe about heading into the office was put down to travel time, by the people of Birmingham in particular – as two in five (40%) claim this was their biggest issue surrounding the commute.

How do thoughts on commuting compare by industry?

In addition to the regions of the UK, we also analysed the breakdown of data by industry to determine the thoughts and feelings of commuting spread across a variety of sectors.

The top five industries most likely to commit a pet peeve:

1. Agriculture – 59%

2. Technology – 34%

3. Arts – 33%

4. Construction – 31%

5. Food – 27%

Agriculture workers are the most likely to commit one of the annoyances listed in, with three in five (59%) claiming they had in our study – on the other hand, retail workers are the most unlikely to cause annoyance on the commute, with just one in nine (11%) claiming they had.

A third of those working in technology (34%) and the arts (33%) meant those industries placed second and third respectively for most likely to commit a pet peeve.

Construction workers (31%) and those working in the food sector (27%) completed the top five industries most likely to cause annoyance on the commute into work.

When looking at the research further, ironically, speaking loudly on the phone was the biggest annoyance for those working in technology, with more than half (53%) working in this sector putting this as their biggest pet peeve.

Those working in marketing are the most likely to work from home, with two-thirds of marketing professionals (65%) claiming they commute less than once a week. However, their biggest gripe was the impact on sleep time with an earlier start, as almost half (47%) working in the industry complained about this.

For two in five (40%) sales professionals, their biggest gripe about heading into the office was the travel cost and for those working in agriculture, more than half (54%) put their biggest gripe down to the travel time.

Conclusion of study

When considering the overall findings of the study, it is clear to see the contrasting opinions of commuters’ thoughts and feelings of going into the office – ranging from completely unbothered by the commute to severely angered by pet peeves on their journey into work.

Although the nation’s biggest commuting pet peeve might be down to other passengers speaking loudly on the phone, our study found the variation between regions and industries across the UK, with no two locations or sectors showing the same thoughts and feelings of the commute.

Our study aims to have emphasised some of the key concerns and pet peeves that we may face on our way into work, to hopefully make us think twice about the way we conduct ourselves to hopefully make the journey a little brighter for us all.

Data sources & methodology:

• Survey of 2,000 British adults over the age of 18 split by age, region, and occupation. 
• Statutory holiday entitlement within the UK set at 46.4 weeks - https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights

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