Why stress? one package at a time

local804

Well-Known Member
Heath Study On

Package Car Drivers



The University of Illinois at Chicago was commissioned by the Teamsters to study the impact of occupational stress on package car drivers.The conclusions:" Job stress is a significant health hazard for UPS Package Truck Drivers.These workers scored in the top 91% of the population on the Global Stress Index...Reported exposure heat, cold, noise, or other environmental stressors...

places them in the 99th percentile for this scale... The Package Truck Drivers scored significantly above the norm on all summary and individual scales... indicating a substantial increase in psychological distress for this group... RECOMMENDATIONS: A corporate wide approach to the study and reduction of workplace stress for Package Truck Drivers is necessary at UPS."


http://pupsinc.homestead.com/Univ_of_IL_study_on_UPS_Package_Car_Drivers.pdf
 

UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)

Well-Known Member
I quickly glanced through the report and was impressed with the thoroughness of the study. I was not, however, surprised at the results. Ours is a stressful job, whether it be in a hub, center, on the road or over the road. All of the various elements of our jobs combine to make them one of the more stressful jobs in our workplace.

Now, as to what UPS will do with this information, I think that we all know the answer to that question---NOTHING!!
 

moreluck

golden ticket member
I would imagine that not having a job would be much more stressful than any stress-filled job out there.
 

scratch

Least Best Moderator
Staff member
The results of this study are of no surprise to me. The stress is at its worse when you are a new driver. You have to learn to cope with it if you are going to be successful at this job. You have to learn how to handle the problems that are completely out of your control, like late air, Preload going down late, traffic, weather, etc. I remember I had a hard time with it my first few years. But its like local804 named this thread, "Why stress? one package at a time". Thats what you learn, you can only do so much and that Package Car empties out all day one box at a time.
 

OldUPSDriver

Well-Known Member
They didn't even get on car with them. Took them in a conference room and asked them questions. You asking questions vs seeing this horrible stress they are subject to but your not on car with them. Read the report before you judge.
 

moreluck

golden ticket member
UPS79.....wrong! I worked the entire time. We moved a few times with UPS and I always got a job that coincided with my kid's school hours.....so I was there for them and the job was for my sanity.
 

JustTired

free at last.......
Which means the stress level is worse now.

The biggest difference between now and fifteen years ago, is the amount of hours worked daily. Which I will concede is one of the biggest stress factors.

This being a Teamster commissioned study is reason enough for the company to ignore it. A certain amount of stress is common in most jobs, not to mention life in general. This job exceeds the limits of acceptable levels, in my opinion. Until this becomes an epidemic of stress related illness companywide, nothing will be done.

As for me.....my stress level went down considerably as of this week. Now...where did I put that remote?
 

IDoLessWorkThanMost

Well-Known Member
The biggest difference between now and fifteen years ago, is the amount of hours worked daily. Which I will concede is one of the biggest stress factors.

This being a Teamster commissioned study is reason enough for the company to ignore it. A certain amount of stress is common in most jobs, not to mention life in general. This job exceeds the limits of acceptable levels, in my opinion. Until this becomes an epidemic of stress related illness companywide, nothing will be done.

As for me.....my stress level went down considerably as of this week. Now...where did I put that remote?


It sure is nice sitting at home sippin coffee at 3:30pm on a Tuesday of a vacation, instead of getting nonstop 22.3 raped in the sweaty, filthy hub.

take it one package at a time - utilize plenty of xanex -put one foot in front of the other, and it's all gravy! :laughing:
 

feeder53

ADKtrails
UPS is a stressfull environ, and there are many more stressfull places....Iraq, Afghanistan.......We all have our cross to carry
 

filiperuvian

20 yrs till retirment yay
It is what it is...........

arrrghh!! i just spent a whole week off trying to forget work and i see that! aaaaaggghhhhh:funny: oh well it's all good. i'm over letting this job stress me out. I like being able to go home and just forget that part of my day...know what i mean? i think it's just another thing that comes with time, and having your own route helps too.
 

helenofcalifornia

Well-Known Member
I think Just Tired is on permanent vacation now. I believe he officially retired last Friday. Watch out for that carpal tunnel on the remote control thumb!
 

Brown Dog

Brown since 81
It's true, life is what you make it, and so is the job.If you can't find more positives than negatives, you might want to look elsewhere. For me, it's money, benefits, vacations, weekends.
 

JustTired

free at last.......
I think Just Tired is on permanent vacation now. I believe he officially retired last Friday. Watch out for that carpal tunnel on the remote control thumb!

That's correct, Helen. I guess it will take me a little time to break the habit of holding an electronic device in my hand and pushing buttons.

For those of you that are in the new UPS/IBT pension plan (formerly CS), I was amazed at how quick and easy things went. About 2-3 weeks from start to first check in account.

When I requested retirement forms from CS, there were about 25 sheets to fill out (decided to wait). When I did the same with new plan, 2 sheets and that was it. No wonder the CS plan was in trouble.

Anyway, back on topic. While I'm sure the rest of my life won't be stress free, I took the biggest relief I could get. If I had it to do over, would I? Ask me in a few months.

To all: No matter how dim it may seem sometimes....there is light at the end of the tunnel.:peaceful:
 
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