Work Strain, Social Isolation and Mental Health of Long-Haul Truckers

Commercial driving is associated with myriad work strains. An ethnographic approach is used to examine how chronic, excess work strains impact the overall mental health of U.S. long-haul truckers. Social isolation and inherent difficulties of establishing and maintaining meaningful social ties during long stretches on the road are found to take a toll on drivers’ mental health. Truckers struggle with loneliness and are overstressed from work pressures and weak support systems. Therefore, commercial driving urgently needs policies designed to curb trucking’s harmful effects on driver mental health and public safety and occupational therapy programs designed to improve mental health.