Supporting van driver mental health on Blue Monday
journey times, traffic congestion, tight deadlines, a high workload, and lack of social interaction. Indeed, the suicide rate for van drivers is 25% higher than the national average. These problems have been exacerbated during COVID-19, as increased demand has increased pressure on van drivers in lockdown.
According to the Driving for Better Business survey, Better Business Resilience' - which surveyed 150 SME business owners and 150 decision-makers at board level in large enterprises on the impact of COVID-19 on their business - almost a third of UK businesses are concerned about staff mental health (32%).
Nearly 2 in 5 (39%) SMEs reported that they were concerned about the mental health of their employees, compared to only a quarter (25%) of large firms. These concerns are firmly on the corporate agenda. Among both SMEs and large enterprises, the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of staff' (44%) was being communicated at board level.