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There is some talk going around that trucking has a hostile workplace, and they are not talking about dealing with four wheelers! It appears that some think that trucking companies do not treat their drivers well, especially their trainees. Could this be true, or is something else going on?

Looking at the problem from a trainee's perspective, one might understand how they may think trucking has a hostile workplace. The student or trainee, who has little or no clue as to what trucking is about beyond a couple of weeks of CDL schooling and watching Smokey and the Bandit, comes into the company with visions of being Jerry Reed and with the idea that trucking is glamorous. Add to this advertisements that tout trucking as being an easy job that equates to being a professional tourist, and then dump the trainee with a trainer who may or may not have more than a year's experience and who is more than likely training for the extra money. The result is a recipe for disaster.

The trainee, who perhaps previously worked in a structured environment with constant supervision, rules, and a clear grievance structure in place, finds themselves thrown into an 8x8 box with a total stranger for 24/7 over a few weeks. Though most companies have a policy to deal with problems, few trainees know what this policy is as they are inundated with information during orientation. As a result, many miss hearing this part, if it is talked about at all.

While there are some instances of a trainee being grossly abused by a trainer, most only encounter personality conflicts and are, essentially, understood by companies. If a problem occurs, the trainee often struggles to find the appropriate company point-of-contact to assist them in resolving the issue, thereby causing more frustration for the trainee. Incidentally, the same thing happens with experienced drivers who encounter new problems within a new company.

Looking at the problem from a company's perspective is a little more involved. The company is going to be entrusting the trainee with thousands of dollars worth of equipment and payload. They have to depend on the trainee, once they go solo, to take care of the equipment and payload and to do the job correctly and safely. This will not only take knowledge, but common sense and tact on the trainee's part. The trainee, once solo, will be working mostly without constant supervision and will have to make decisions every minute on their own; there will be no one there to hold their hand.

A trainee's training time is intense and must be so, as almost every company has only so many trainers available and many students to train. There is little time, if any, for the fun and games that a trainee may have envisioned, and there is definitely no time to lolly-coddle anyone. As in boot camp for the military, it is better to be hard at first and wash someone out early than to baby them and then find out later that they are unsuited to the job. Furthermore, training companies, especially, have high equipment repair/replacement costs due to ‘rookie' mistakes and high insurance costs due to the same.

Most training companies are large operations with multiple terminals and many office personnel. Turnover rates of drivers are usually high at the training companies, as many drivers gain experience for a year or so and then move on to what, in the driver's mind, is a better company. This "churning of drivers" costs the company thousands of dollars a year in hiring, orientation, and benefit costs; in addition, a great deal of frustration is felt by the office personnel as drivers complain and raise hell before quitting for whatever reason. This frustration can lead to apathy on the part of the office personnel and a lack of the personal approach to drivers. Though this is not really a right attitude on their behalf, it is understandable.

While trucking can and does provide a good living for many drivers, along with a satisfaction that one is serving one's country by keeping it supplied, in no way is trucking an easy job for anyone, driver and office personnel alike. Truckers face many problems, both personally and professionally, and they expect their support staff to be available to listen to them. Many companies have cut back on office staff, and the remaining staff does not have time to listen to a driver's complaints because they are forced to cover multiple positions, themselves, in today's economy. This can lead to misunderstandings and negativity between the two groups.

Does the trucking industry have a hostile workplace? Yes! The very nature of trucking, the dangers of the road, the loneliness and isolation of the job itself, and the possibility of becoming a victim of crime is the root cause of any sort of hostile environment found in the industry. Truckers must have the tenacity to persevere in their chosen careers and to deal with the job itself. If one does not have resolve and perseverance coming into the industry, one must develop it quickly or potentially face failure.

Is this hostile workplace promoted by the companies? No! Not in my opinion, for all the reasons stated above. It should not be believed that any company would consciously promote hostility towards its drivers in any fashion; it simply would not benefit them at all. However, hostility does occur towards drivers at times, typically for a justified reason such as poor performance, lack of company policy knowledge, improper job procedures, or personality conflicts. Understanding the problem and why it occurs is the first step towards reaching resolution.