As most of our drivers will be aware, we recently emailed a wellbeing survey out for their completion to plan a whole year’s worth of wellbeing initiatives.
We looked at research from the British Medical Journal which suggested that HGV drivers exhibit higher than average rates of obesity and associated conditions like diabetes, in comparison to other occupational groups. In addition, due to shift patterns, unsociable hours, sleep issues, and culture of reluctance to talk about troubling issues, HGV drives may also experience mental health and stress issues, which have recently become worse due to the pandemic. However, rather than make assumptions about our own drivers, we decided to ask them directly but confidentially, about their health so we could establish how best we could support them for the future. We formulated our questions to reflect a broad range of health issues to enable a full and holistic approach to our survey.
Over the years, the industry has paid limited attention to health promotion efforts to help drivers look after themselves better. However, we are hoping that by carrying out this survey and putting plans in place that our drivers will genuinely find helpful, we can start doing more to support them and begin to change the culture within the logistics industry.
If you are a driver who has not yet completed our survey, it’s not too late! The closing date is the 31st December 2021, and we are hoping that the more responses we receive, the more we can effectively plan for a well-being programme that will make a difference.
