Why You Should Have a Health and Wellness Program for Your Fleet?

Over-the-road (OTR) truckers have the propensity to lead one of the unhealthiest lifestyles in today’s working class. The very nature of the work is sedentary. The work in and of itself is somewhat monotonous. It is easy to eat when one is bored and that happens a lot! The very nature of the drive is charming. It draws us to this business and at the same time it is what makes us overweight.

Health and Wellness Programs are common in just about every industry and a viable option for owner/operators and fleet managers. The benefits of a health and wellness program:

• better morale
• lower employee turnover
• pride in work from the previous two benefits
• overall just better productivity and efficiency
• it looks good to insurance companies and get you a better premium

​Let us explain.

​Health programs indicate to team members that you do care about them and not just the bottom line. Feeling appreciated, as we all know, creates better attitudes and a sense of team membership. Read any employee management book and you’ll see that workers that feel like team members produce more,  becasue they are more positive from taking pride in their work.

From experience, driver’s that consistently have problems with their vehicles, logs, and load and unload times tend to be those without pride in their company or job. Make them feel appreciated, and help them in other areas of their lives, e.g. health and wellness, and you could signifigantly improve your productivity and efficiency.

Some Ideas.

• Monthly/Quarterly Meeting/Classes

Even something as simple as a meeting/class on how to keep healthy while on the road will do good when implemented and followed up with goal achievement recognition.

• Have them create goals with action plans

Give your drivers the opportunity to set health goals so they can see the improvement and feel good about what they have achieved

• Offer to pay for Gym memberships 

Often times paying for a gym membership is the very reason that people have not yet joined. Get rid of that objection and all they have left is which membership option will work best for them.

Follow this with monthly check in requirements to ensure that you aren’t wasting company dollars and your truck loads will get lighter (our attempt at humor). 

Some Ideas to Get You Rolling.

Encourage your team to get fit menally and physically  by offering these suggestions to stay occupied and healthy on the road:

  1. Eating Healthy on the Go

Grocery stores have parking for tractors and trailers, so there is no excuse not to stay stocked up on healthy pre-made food.

•Pre-washed bags of lettuce and spinach
•Pre-washed and cut vegetables (to eat alone or put on your lettuce)
•Pre-washed and cut fruit
•Whole pieces of fruit those are easy to clean (apples, oranges, plums, bananas)
•Grilling meat (especially chicken and turkey breasts, they also come in cooked already varieties to put on salads)

 2. Exercise

We hear this excuse all the time. Exercise is hard when you are an OTR driver. You drive for 11 hours straight (at least that is all you are supposed to do) then take 10 hours off, and that is if you have the perfect day right? Tomorrow you are back at it again, repeating the cycle. When you push that hard, where do you fit in exercise? Let’s look at that one. Running shoes are an inexpensive option and very easy to store. You can go walking or jogging in the same places you already stop at. When you hit the rest area, get out and walk for a few minutes. Jog into the rest area, park in the furthest spot and jog in. We know there is not time in the middle of the day for much, but set aside time at the end of the day for exercise

 3. Sleep

Sleep is essential to good health. You live in the cab of your truck. Do not settle for the cheapest when it comes to a mattress and pillow. Choose one that is very comfortable. You need to get as much sleep as possible in your 10 hours off and to do that your sleeping conditions must be as comfortable and as quiet as possible

  4.  Mind

The job can be boring. Mile after mile after mile of monotonous roads, trees and signs. You can easily become distracted or you can think too much. Do you know that sometimes thinking too much is a bad thing? A few suggestions on how to make every mile count and not be a distracted driver.

•Audio books. Purchase or rent audio books and listen to your favorite authors or develop
favorite authors. Use the opportunity to learn about subjects that fascinate you. Audible.com is an easy and inexpensive way to get books on your phone.
•Language tapes. You do not have to have the goal of becoming fluent in another language, but
you can learn some phrases. This is especially useful if you deal with a number of individuals
who speak a different language. Learn a few of things to say in their language. The amount of
respect you will earn will be insurmountable. Talking back to the tape can keep you engaged,
awake and alert. Pimsleur is a great interactive listening program.
•Music. Branch out in your taste of music. Do you listen to country music? Try listening to
Bach or Tchaikovsky. Is rap music your taste? Try listening to world music. Your options are
numerous

5. Family

OTR work does not always lend to the most family time. Take the opportunity to talk to those who mean the most to you. Taking to them makes you feel connected and keeps you active and interested in their lives, it also gives you an opportunity to see what your life is like and why you fell in love with driving. Driving may not be the most healthy of professions, but if we take the time to understand its weakness and work with it we can make it a healthy option for new drivers too. Most new drivers gain a few pounds their first year. Although, once they get onto a system and understand how they can make changes and fit in exercise it will all make sense.

If these ideas do not seem to fit into your business, make them fit or come up with ideas of your own. There are also companies that can make programs for you. 

-Erker’s Truck Repair

www.erkerstruckrepair.com
Erker's Truck Repair
2215 Pacific Hwy E.
Fife, WA 98424
erkerstruck1@comcast.net