Survey: Truck Drivers Voice Pay Concerns During COVID-19

A recent analysis by WorkHound of more than 30,000 commercial fleet drivers revealed growing concerns about pay during the COVID-19 pandemic – but fewer questions about personal protective gear.

WorkHound sends drivers open-ended questions in a text message to their phones weekly, such as "How is your week going at your company?" Of the more than 50 fleets that contributed to the analysis via the WorkHound platform, more than 25% of the drivers in a mid-April survey felt they deserve some form of additional hazard pay or some other means of financial support, such as deferral for truck payments or tuition. Pay is the fastest-growing concern, increasing from 6% of the comments in March to 35% in the second week of April.

“I wish our bosses would see these dark days and not only say ‘good work,’ but put at least more cent per mile in such days…’Good job’ is not enough when things in stores are now expensive,” wrote one driver.

Comments concerning morale also increased in the first half of April, up 12% from the end of March. A majority of the more than one-fifth of these particular commenters expressed a sense of optimism and perseverance, while a smaller portion conveyed frustration and negativity.

On the personal protective equipment front, drivers requesting PPE and other sanitation measures represented a little less than one-fifth of the feedback, a decrease by 8% from March. According to WorkHound, this points to the fact that these concerns are being adequately addressed by fleets and industry organizations.

The feedback about COVID-19 was unprompted and drivers introduced it as a response to their regular weekly question, according to WorkHound.