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Oregon Trucking Associations, Inc.
Oregon Truck Dispatch
Driver Wellness
Recruitment through Retention
Additionally, it’s not news that being a professional
driver comes with serious health risks. But the
latest figures outlining how severe the problem is
are staggering. Think about this: according to the
Centers for Disease Control’s 2014 published study
on the health of long-haul drivers, the average
life expectancy for a long-haul driver is 61. The
average life expectancy for a non-driver 77. Add
this sobering statistic to the long list of reasons we
have a driver shortage. We know through the same
CDC study that a driver’s shortened life-span is due
primarily to long-term, chronic health problems.
This includes: 69% rate of obesity (vs. 35% in the
general population), 87% rate of hypertension (vs.
21%), 14.4% rate of diabetes (vs. 6.8%), 54% rate of
smokers (vs. 21%), 28% of sleep apnea (vs.6%) , and a
8% exercise rate (vs. 49%).
It goes without saying that the sedentary nature
of the job, and difficulty finding healthy food and
getting adequate exercise while on the road are major
underlying causes of these health rates. Outside
of the driver retention issue, the poor health of
our drivers are driving increased costs in health
insurance, workers compensation costs, medical
card revocations, overall company morale and driver
happiness.
We know there are significant challenges to
implementing meaningful wellness initiatives that
truly drive behavior and lifestyle changes resulting
in improved health for your drivers. But when we
think about this issue relative to driver retention
(the average cost to recruit, hire and train a new
driver is $5,000) the ROI pencils out quickly. The
most progressive carriers are dedicating Safety and
Recruiting dollars to health and wellness initiatives
as they realize the health of their drivers is tied
directly to risk management and attracting and
retaining the best drivers. J.B. Hunt has said that via
their overall health and wellness programing reduced
preventable claims cost by $550 per participant and
resulted in a positive ROI in the first 12 months of
the program. So what types of programs will actually
work for your company?
The most fundamental element to any successful
wellness program is implementation. There are three
different types of wellness programs—and the least
commonly offered type, a results-oriented program,
has been proven most effective.
Our industry’s driver shortage is not news or a secret. Every carrier is experiencing the
impact. ATA’s most recent analysis is projecting a national shortage of 73,500 drivers for
2016. If the trend continues as it has been, this number could more than double by 2024 to
over 174,000. The causes of this shortage are many, including an aging driver demographic, a
primarily male workforce, lack of desire to adopt the over the road lifestyle, regulations, etc.
This shortage is feeding our average industry turnover rate of over 90%.
By Dan Petrillo
and
Adam Harris