Work-Life Conflict among U.S. Long-Haul Truck Drivers: Influences of Work Organization, Perceived Job Stress, Sleep, and Organizational Support

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health 2019-03, Vol.16 (6), p.984
• Main Authors: Hege, Adam, Lemke, Michael K, Apostolopoulos, Yorghos, Whitaker, Brian, Sönmez, Sevil
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Automobile Driving; Employment; Female; Freight transportation; Health behavior; Health disparities; Health risks; Humans; Influence; Information technology; Logistic Models; Male; Mental disorders; Middle Aged; Motor Vehicles; Occupational health; Occupational Stress; Perception; Population; Profession; Psychological stress; Psychosocial Support Systems; Quality of life; Recreation; Researchers; Shift work; Sleep; Stress; Surveys and Questionnaires; Truck drivers; United States; Work life balance; Working conditions; Working hours
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16060984

Work-life balance and job stress are critical to health and well-being. Long-haul truck driving (LHTD) is among the unhealthiest and most unsafe occupations in the U.S. Despite these disparities, there are no extant published studies examining the influence of work, stress and sleep outcomes on drivers' work-life balance. The current study investigated whether adverse work organization, stress, and poor sleep health among LHTDs are significantly associated with work-life conflict. Logistic regression was used to examine how work organization characteristics, job stress, and sleep influenced perceived stress and a composite measure of work-life conflict among a sample of 260 U.S. LHTDs. The pattern of regression results dictated subsequent analyses using structural equation modeling (SEM). Perceived job stress was the only statistically significant predictor for work-life balance. Fast pace of work, sleep duration and sleep quality were predictors of perceived job stress. SEM further elucidated that stress mediates the influences of fast work pace, supervisor/coworker support, and low sleep duration on each of the individual work-life balance indicators. There is an urgent need to address work conditions of LHTDs to better support their health, well-being, and work-life balance. Specifically, the findings from this study illustrate that scheduling practices and sleep outcomes could alleviate job stress and need to be addressed to more effectively support work-life balance. Future research and interventions should focus on policy and systems-level change.