Dissertation
Health, safety and turnover among long-haul truck drivers
University of Iowa
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
Autumn 2020
DOI: 10.17077/etd.005685
Abstract
The trucking industry has had a high rate of turnover that has been above 85% since 2012, especially among long-haul truck drivers who operate 18-wheelers between states and are on the road for at least 17 days in a month. Moreover, due to the sedentary nature of work in combination with long hours and lack of access to healthy food options on the road, seven out of ten truck drivers are obese. Obesity puts the truck drivers at risk for chronic health conditions such as heart diseases, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Despite these health effects and higher rates of turnover among current workers, the health and safety of the workforce entering the industry has not received enough attention. Existing studies focus on current truck drivers and have included organizational factors – such as pay, organizational commitment, organization culture – as the predictors of turnover. These studies overlook the health conditions and health behaviors of the incoming workforce. The aims of the study were to understand the reasons why individuals enter the trucking industry, factors associated with industry and organizational turnover, factors that influence the health behaviors among long-haul truck drivers, and the health characteristics among students in Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) courses. Two studies were used to address these aims.
Semi-structured interviews were conducted among supervisors, drivers currently operating 18-wheelers, students enrolled in CDL courses and instructors of those courses. The focus was to understand why people enter the trucking industry and the reasons they take a new job or leave the trucking industry altogether. Other questions focused on the health behaviors of drivers and factors in the work environment that contributed to these behaviors. The second study recruited a cohort of students enrolled in CDL classes. A baseline survey was used to assess individual characteristics, work factors, health behaviors and health conditions. Follow up surveys were conducted at 3 and 6 months to determine if there were changes from baseline and to track employment status.
Results from the interviews found that individuals enter the trucking industry consider trucking to be less physically demanding compared to their previous occupations. Factors such as coworker support, supervisor support, home time and pay were linked to turnover from an organization and factors such as hours of service, industry regulations were discussed in relation to turnover from the industry. There were also differences in the expectations of the current and prospective workforce. While the prospective workforce was largely positive about the work expectations, supervisors and instructors mentioned that those expectations may be unrealistic and can lead to turnover. In addition, all of the participants described the challenges related to healthy eating and physical activity while on the road. They discussed the scarce and expensive healthy food options on the road, the lack of time or space to exercise, and the limited places where they can park their cab, which affects their sleep, diet and physical activity.
Findings from the baseline survey as well as the interviews found that students who are about to enter the trucking industry were older and many have pre-existing health conditions. Over 50% of the participants were obese and over one third were diagnosed with high blood pressure at baseline. The challenges identified in the first study related to healthy eating, sleep and physical activity could further exacerbate their health conditions and lead to turnover from the industry.
The results from the study aided in understanding the reasons individuals enter and leave the trucking industry among long-haul truck drivers. It also helped understand the role of work organization and environmental factors on the health behaviors of long-haul truck drivers. The study found that most of the individuals enter the trucking industry as mid-career adults which can be a contributor to unhealthy behaviors, chronic health conditions and turnover. The results from this project revealed opportunities for intervention to improve the well-being of long-haul truck drivers and to reduce turnover that can begin in the trucking schools and continue in the workplace. The findings from this work can be used by trucking companies to develop pertinent strategies to promote the health and safety of truck drivers and to retain them in the industry.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Health, safety and turnover among long-haul truck drivers
- Creators
- Ashamsa Aryal
- Contributors
- Diane S Rohlman (Advisor)Brenda Buikema (Committee Member)Carri Casteel (Committee Member)Hyunkeun (Ryan) Cho (Committee Member)Nathan Fethke (Committee Member)Brandi Janssen (Committee Member)
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Iowa
- Degree in
- Occupational and Environmental Health
- Date degree season
- Autumn 2020
- DOI
- 10.17077/etd.005685
- Publisher
- University of Iowa
- Number of pages
- xi, 159 pages
- Copyright
- Copyright 2020 Ashamsa Aryal
- Language
- English
- Description bibliographic
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 119-125).
- Public Abstract (ETD)
Long-haul truck drivers are at risk of injury and illness because of a work environment that includes long hours of driving, little physical activity and limited access to healthy food. The trucking industry also has high rates of turnover, especially among long-haul truck drivers who operate 18-wheelers between states and are on the road for at least 17 days a month. This study compared the perceptions of workers in the trucking industry, including current drivers, and instructors and students enrolled in trucking schools on work factors that impact driver health and retention. Recognizing that retention begins before someone enters the industry, students were enrolled in a longitudinal study examining health behaviors, health conditions and factors important for employment and retention in the trucking industry.
Results from the interviews indicated that individuals enter the trucking industry in search of a stable, less physically demanding career. They mentioned that the health and safety of drivers is not related to either turnover from the industry or from the organization, instead coworker support, supervisor support, work hours, home time and pay are important factors. However, health and age of the drivers were discussed in relation to turnover from the industry. Everyone mentioned the challenges of healthy eating, getting enough physical activity and sleep while driving, however the students were more optimistic about their ability to overcome these barriers. Instructors felt that these expectations may be unrealistic and can contribute to turnover from the industry. Baseline data from the longitudinal study found that students enrolled in trucking schools were often mid-career and the average age of the students was 40 years old.
The results from the study aided in understanding the reasons individuals enter and leave the trucking industry. It also identified the role of work organizational and environmental factors that can impact the health behaviors of long-haul drivers. The results from this project reveal opportunities for intervention to improve the well-being of long-haul truck drivers and to reduce turnover. These interventions can begin in the trucking schools by focusing on setting realistic expectations among the students and can continue into the workplace. Trucking companies can use this information to develop pertinent policies and programs to promote the health and safety of truck drivers and retain them in the industry.
- Academic Unit
- Occupational and Environmental Health
- Record Identifier
- 9984035893102771
Metrics
6 File views/ downloads
132 Record Views