Covid-19 Pandemic as a Factor Increasing Truck Drivers' Stress

• Autorzy: Wojciech Zalewski , Magdalena Osińska , Lidia Chylewska-Barakat
• Języki publikacji: EN

Abstrakty

EN

Purpose: The questionnaire-based study investigated whether the COVID-19 pandemic increased stress in busy truck drivers' jobs. Design/methodology/approach: The sample of 239 drivers was examined in March-August, 2021. Findings: The study revealed that most drivers were resilient to COVID-19-related stressors. Some stressors, such as age, seniority, recovering from COVID-19, and worsening family financial conditions, were found to have more impact on some respondents than others. Age and seniority were related to anxiety about increased occupational activities. Those whose economic conditions worsened were afraid of job loss. People who recovered from COVID-19 felt overworked more often than others and tended to be scared of safety on the road and being alone in the truck. They more often required psychological support. Research limitations/implications: The study is based on a sample of drivers observed conveniently in 2021. Monitoring them in two or three waves is recommended to compare the impact of other processes that could affect responses. Practical implications: The outcomes are valuable in practice twofold. Firstly, the knowledge is acquired directly from the drivers who proved to be pretty resilient to COVID-related issues; however, some were more sensitive than others. That means the drivers as an occupational group cannot be considered uniform. Some needed psychological support, and such cases should be identified at the enterprise level. Secondly, the results show that COVID-related stressors with other accompanying issues increase the impact on drivers' health. Originality/value: The empirical results revealed the most significant stressors. They were justified by using several stress definitions and psychological theories, particularly the Conservation of Resources Theory. They can be considered in the drivers' management process.(original abstract)

Słowa kluczowe

EN

Driver training; Occupational stress; Economic conditions; COVID-19

PL

Szkolenie kierowców; Stres zawodowy; Warunki gospodarcze; COVID-19

• Czasopismo: Zeszyty Naukowe. Organizacja i Zarządzanie / Politechnika Śląska
• Rocznik: 2022
• Numer: z. 160 Modernity of Industry and Sciences = Nowoczesność przemysłu i nauki
• Strony: 685--702

Twórcy

autor

Wojciech Zalewski

• Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland

autor

Magdalena Osińska

• Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland

autor

Lidia Chylewska-Barakat

• Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Poland

Bibliografia

• 1. BBC (2020). Coronavirus: the world in lockdown in maps and charts. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-52103747, 10.01.2022.
• 2. Belzer, H.M. (2018). Work-stress factors associated with truck crashes: An exploratory analysis. The Economic and Labour Relations Review, 29(2), https://doi.org/ 10.1177%2F1035304618781654.
• 3. da Silva-Júnior, F.P., de Pinho, R.S.N., de Mello, M.T., de Bruin, V.M.S., & De Bruin, P.F.C. (2009). Risk factors for depression in truck drivers. Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology, 44(2), 125-129. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-008-0412-3.
• 4. Dam, P., Mandal, S., Mondal, R., Sadat, A., Chowdhury, S.R., & Mandal, A.K. (2020). COVID-19: Impact on transport and mental health. Journal Transport & Health, 19, https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.jth.2020.100969.
• 5. Ermasova, N. & Rekhter, N. (2021). COVID-19 stress, health issues, and correlations with different genders and age groups. Journal of Gender Studies, https://doi.org/10.1080/ 09589236.2021.1941815. 700 W. Zalewski, M. Osińska, L. Chylewska-Barakat
• 6. Fort, E., Ndagire, S., Gadegbeku, B., Hours, M. & Charbotel, B. (2016). Working conditions and occupational risk exposure in employees driving for work. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 89, 118-127, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2016.01.015.
• 7. Google (2021). Community Mobility Reports. https://www.google.com/COVID-19/mobility, 8.01.2022.
• 8. Graupensperger, S., Calhoun, B.H., Patrick, M.E., & Lee, C.M. (2022). Longitudinal effects of COVID-19-related stressors on young adults' mental health and well-being. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1111/aphw.12344.
• 9. Hebb, D.O. (1965). Drivers and the CNS. In: H. Fowler (Ed.), Curiosity and exploratory behaviour. New York: McMillan.
• 10. Hege, A., Lemke, M.K., Apostolopoulos, Y., & Sönmez, S. (2019). The impact of work organization, job stress, and sleep on the health behaviors and outcomes of US long-haul truck drivers. Health Education & Behavior, 46(4), 626-636. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 1090198119826232.
• 11. Hobfoll, S.E. (2001). The Influence of Culture, Community, and the Nested-Self in the Stress Process: Advancing Conservation of Resources Theory. Applied Psychology, 50, 337-421. https://doi.org/10.1111/1464-0597.00062.
• 12. IRU (2020). COVID-19 Impacts on the Road Transport Industry - Executive summary. https://www.iru.org/, 18.01.2021.
• 13. IRU (2021). https://www.itf-oecd.org/iru-report-covid-19-impact-road-transport-industry-update-june-2021, 11.11.2021.
• 14. Jamieson, S. (2004). Likert scales: How to (ab) use them? Medical Education, 38(12), 1217-1218. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2929.2004.02012.x.
• 15. Jensen, A., & Dahl, S. (2009). Truck drivers hours-of-service regulations and occupational health. Work, 33(3), 363-368. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-2009-0884.
• 16. Kahn, R.L., Wolfe, D.M., Quinn, R.P., Snoek, J.D., & Rosenthal, R.A. (1964). Organizational stress: Studies in role conflict and ambiguity. London: John Wiley.
• 17. Karanina, E., Kotandzhyan, A., Vershinina, N., & Davydova, J. (2020). Development and improvement of HR policy in the transport industry. In E3S Web of Conferences (164, p. 10018). EDP Sciences.
• 18. Kucharčíková, A, Mičiak, M. (2018). Human Capital Management in Transport Enterprises with the Acceptance of Sustainable Development in the Slovak Republic. Sustainability, 10(7), 2530. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10072530.
• 19. Lalla-Edward, S.T., Matthewb, P., Hankinsc, C.A., Ventera, C.D. & Gomezc, G.B. (2018). Healthcare for truck drivers: Assessing accessibility and appropriateness of South African Roadside Wellness Centres. Journal of Transport & Health 8, 63-72. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.jth.2018.01.007.
• 20. Lazarus, R.S. & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Cham: Springer.
• 21. Lazarus, R.S. (1990). Theory-Based Stress Measurement. Psychological Inquiry 1(1), 3-13. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1449700.
• 22. Lemke, M.K., Apostolopoulos, Y. & Sonmez, S. (2020). Syndemic frameworks to understand the effects of COVID-19 on commercial driver stress, health, and safety. Journal Transport & Health, 18, 100877, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2020.100877.
• 23. Likert, R. (1932). A Technique for the Measurement of Attitudes. Archives of Psychology 140, 1-55. https://legacy.voteview.com/pdf/Likert_1932.pdf.
• 24. Montoro, L., Useche, S., Alonso, F. & Cendales, B. (2018). Work Environment, Stress, and Driving Anger: A Structural Equation Model for Predicting Traffic Sanctions of Public Transport Drivers. National Library of Medicine 15(3), https://dx.doi.org/ 10.3390%2Fijerph15030497.
• 25. Musselwhite, C., Avineri, E. & Susilo, Y. (2021). Restrictions on mobility due to the coronavirus COVID-19: Threats and opportunities for transport and health. Journal of Transport & Health, 20, 101042, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2021.101042.
• 26. Orris, P., Hartman, E.D., Strauss, P., Anderson, R.J., Collins, J., Knopp, C., Xu, Y. & Melius, J. (1997). Stress among package truck drivers. American Journal of Industrial Medicine 31(2). https://doi.org/10.1002/(sici)1097-0274(199702)31:2<202::aid-ajim10> 3.0.co;2-5.
• 27. Osińska, M., & Zalewski, W. (2020). Effectiveness of the Anti-Crisis Policy in the Period of COVID-19 Pandemic in the Road Transport Industry. European Research Studies Journal, Special Iss. 2, 40-57. https://doi.org/10.35808/ersj/1807.
• 28. Öz, B., Özkan, T., & Lajunen, T. (2010) Professional and non-professional drivers' stress reactions and risky driving. Transportation Research, Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 13(9), 32-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trf.2009.10.001.
• 29. Ross, F.M. (1998). Occupational bliss or occupational stress: Managing mental health in work contexts. Journal of Occupational Science, 5, 3, 155-160, https://doi.org/10.1080/ 14427591.1998.9686444.
• 30. Tucker, M.K., Jimmieson, N.L., & Jamieson, J.E. (2018). Role stressors in Australian transport and logistics workers: Psychosocial implications, Safety Science, 109, 12-19, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssci.2018.05.007.
• 31. Useche, S., Cendales, B., Alonso, A. & Serge1, A. (2017). Comparing Job Stress, Burnout, Health and Traffic Crashes of Urban Bus and BRT Drivers. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 5(1), 25-32. http://dx.doi.org/10.12691/ajap-5-1-5.
• 32. Van der Beek, A.J. (2012). World at work: truck drivers. Occupational and environmental medicine, 69(4), 291-295. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2011-100342.
• 33. Zacher, H., & Rudolph, C.W. (2022). Strength and vulnerability: Indirect effects of age on changes in occupational well-being through emotion regulation and physiological disease. Psychology and Aging, 37(3), 357-370. https://doi.org/10.1037/pag0000671.
• 34. Zacher, H., Jimmieson, N.L., & Bordia, P. (2014). Time pressure and co-worker support mediate the curvilinear relationship between age and occupational well-being. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 19(4), 462-475. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036995.
• 35. Zalewski, W. (2019). Telematics systems in road transport. Journal of Positive Management, 10(1), 3-20. http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/JPM.2019.001.

Identyfikatory

DOI

10.29119/1641-3466.2022.160.41