The amount of time that workers spend commuting between home and their workplace has rocketed in the past 10 years, with millions of workers now taking at least an hour to get to the office, new research shows.

The results come at the same time as it is claimed that congestion on Scotland's roads is costing the economy £1bn a year through extra fuel and man-hour costs and missed deliveries.

The TUC research found the number of people who travel for more than an hour to get to work has risen by as much as 40% and that around 145,000 people in Scotland are now setting off for work earlier and getting home later than they did 10 years ago.

The M8 between Glasgow and Edinburgh, with 55,000 users a day, was recently named the worst road in Britain for congestion, beating major roads in London and Manchester, with delays most likely at junction 16 Cowcaddens and junction 20 on the Kingston Bridge.

But the problem is countrywide: the A720 at Edinburgh is the fifth-worst A-road in Britain, while in Aberdeenshire, the A90 from Muggiemoss to Stonehaven is identified as a congestion blackspot, and Dundee's A90 ring road is also affected.

Friends of the Earth Scotland (FoES) said the government should consider more direct action such as road-user or congestion charging, and that people should be offered "safe, convenient and affordable alternatives".

The FoES spokesman said: "This means greater investment in public transport, safer streets for cycling and walking, better land-use planning and the introduction of a fair system of road-user or congestion charging."

Professor David Gray, of Robert Gordon University, was reported yesterday as saying that congestion is affecting business to the extent that it costs £1bn a year.

The RAC Foundation said the government should carry out more research into why people use cars to commute and added that innovative measures such as encouraging home working should be used to reduce car usage.

It said congestion must be tackled and that "we cannot ignore this and hope that everyone will take the train".

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber also said employers should explore avenues such as new working structures to help alleviate the problem.

He said: "We work some of the longest hours in Europe, and on top of this have to endure the second-longest daily commute in Europe - on average 54 minutes per day.

"This adds up to a very stressful working week for millions of workers across the UK, and employers could ease this strain for their workers by introducing flexible working.

"Workers who enjoy the benefits of flexible working and can travel to and from work outside of peak rush hour times are likely to feel less hassled and anxious about work - something which can only be good news for their employers.

"I hope all employers who receive flexibility requests consider them seriously and do all they can to make flexible working a reality."

The TUC study coincided with a call by the Work Wise campaign group for firms to allow more flexible and home working to reduce the stress of the daily journey for the UK's 25 million commuters.

Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise, said: "As is seen every summer with schools closing and annual holidays, even a small fall in the number of people travelling alleviates road congestion and public transport overcrowding.

"Wider adoption of smarter commuting will allow the levels of travel in the summer to happen all year round.

"If everyone travelled one day per week outside peak hours, commuters during peak hours would drop by 20%, or if everyone worked just one day every other week from home, overall commuting would drop by 10%.

"We have all seen what the impact could be on the roads and public transport."