As we’ve seen, a third of lorry drivers don’t worry about the hours they’ll get.
So what we’re asking next is: are lorry drivers stressed?
Here’s what lorry drivers have to say.
| % lorry drivers that are stressed |
Yes | 87% |
No | 13% |
Unfortunately, it’s a pretty big yes.
Digging into what lorry drivers have shared about their jobs, there are patterns to why this is.
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Not always guaranteed hours (as previously mentioned)
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Long hours and heavy workload
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Tricky management
Let’s take a further look into these.
Do lorry drivers get proper breaks?
As mentioned above, although there isn’t a lot of security in hours ahead of working, many lorry drivers work long shifts.
When discussing what the worst thing about their job is, long hours along with heavy workload came up a lot. Here are some examples that were shared:
'Long hours in the summer'
'Long hours, hard work'
'Early starts and long days'
'Some days the days are long'
'Too much work'
'Too many jobs in one day'
As long, tiring shifts are common, we wanted to see if lorry drivers were getting proper breaks.
| % lorry drivers get proper breaks |
Yes | 87% |
No | 13% |
The good news is that the majority do!
Having such long working days means that getting proper breaks is very important.
This is not only important for their wellbeing but also for safety on the road.
Are lorry drivers paid for their breaks?
We’ve seen that lorry drivers get proper breaks, but are they paid for them?
| % lorry drivers paid for breaks |
Yes | 56% |
No | 42% |
Just over half of lorry drivers get paid for their breaks.
So although they are able to take proper breaks, these are not paid for.
Given that breaks are a legal requirement to keep lorry drivers safe on the road, they should not be missing out on pay when doing so.
What do lorry drivers think of company management?
To further our understanding of why most lorry drivers are stressed, we’re going to look at management in companies that hire lorry drivers.
A significant amount of lorry drivers have shared that company management is the worst thing about their job. Here are some examples:
'Poor management decisions'
'Lack of knowledge from managers who aren’t on the frontline'
'Very short sighted decisions from management'
'Manager doesn’t communicate and manage properly'
'Management don’t listen'
From what has been shared, there seems to be a pattern in the disconnect between management and the frontline experience of lorry drivers.
A good company supports workers on the frontline and understands the practicalities of their jobs.
It looks like a lot of these companies still need to work on building on this support.