Trucker health is a big topic these days and rightfully so. There are many websites out there offering advice on truck driver weight loss or tips on how to eat healthy as a trucker. But a truck driver’s overall health includes more than that, especially when it comes to their work-life balance.
Given the nature of the job, truck drivers spend most of their time on the road away from their family and friends, which makes it difficult to maintain quality relationships. Below are some ideas on how a truck driver can stay more connected to their friends and loved ones:
Get involved on social media
One of the easiest ways to network with other drivers, make friends, socialise, and find answers to a variety of your problems is to interact on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and other social media channels. Through this, truck drivers are then able to interact with their fellow drivers and their family whilst they’re on the road.
Develop a plan to talk with friends and family regularly
It is important to set up a schedule for communication. For example, you could put a reminder in your phone to call home daily or every other day. Better yet, you could set up the reminder during a time that you and your family have the most energy. Make sure you don’t put the call off by waiting until the last minute before bedtime. This will allow you and your family to have the most energy to have a quality conversation.
Develop a plan for home time
Being on the road for weeks on end usually isn’t a good idea, as most truckers and their families already know. It is essential for there to be as much of a structured plan for home time as possible. For some people, coming home less often, but for a longer period of time is more helpful, compared to frequent short visits.
Remember, relationships and lack of connectedness are often the biggest source of stress for the trucker and their family. It is important to realise that since many truckers are away from home for days or worse, weeks at a time, they are automatically having long-distance relationships. Given that relationships are hard enough as it is, distance only adds to the complexity. As a result, there are more miscommunications, heartaches, and arguments. Make it a priority to call your loved ones on a regular basis. Remember, texting is often good, but an old-fashioned phone call is more personal and less likely to result in miscommunication. In order to reduce stress, it is essential for truckers to maintain a work-life balance and to achieve this, communication and time are the key!
Written by Hugo Phillipps
