Around a quarter of the UK’s van drivers (24%) have faced mental health issues caused by work in the past year, according to a study by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.
A poor work-life balance and working too many hours (32% and 28% respectively) were cited as some of the top causes of stress leading to mental health issues.
More than half (51%) of the 1,000 van drivers surveyed reported feeling overwhelmed by work every month. Respondents attributed this to an increase in working hours as 60% of van drivers have seen their working hours increase, with as many as 40% working 10 hours or more per day. One in 10 respondents admitted to working 13 hours or more per day – almost double the number working such long hours the year before.
In the UK, the legal limit for work is 48 hours per week on average – unless workers sign an agreement to opt out of this limit – pointing to the fact that many van drivers are working significantly more hours than the legal weekly limit allows.
