Job-related factors that predict the psychological health and well-being of urban taxi drivers

Abstract

A vast body of research conducted over several decades has established that (a) psychological stress is a major occupational health problem, and (b) drivers in the transport industry are one of several occupational groups who report disproportionately high levels of work-induced stress and psychological ill health. Although the psychological health of truck, coach and urban bus drivers has been studied extensively over the past three decades, the taxi industry has not received the same level of research scrutiny. Only two studies have investigated the effects that driving a taxi has on drivers’ psychological health and well-being. These studies identified potential job-related factors that may influence drivers’ health. The present research aimed to further contribute to knowledge by investigating job-related environmental, organisational and individual factors and their effects on the levels of depression, anxiety, stress and well-being of a sample of taxi drivers in the Brisbane metropolitan area. The theoretical framework for this research utilised Karasek’s (1979) job demand-control model of job strain. In essence, jobs in which demands are high and control is low create an increased level of job strain, which can manifest as psychological illness and a diminished sense of job-related well-being. In addition to the job demands and job control environmental factors, the individual factors of driver aggression, risk-taking and coping strategies, and the organisational factor of safety climate, were incorporated into a proposed ‘extended Karasek model’ in order to more accurately predict the psychological health and well-being of the taxi drivers.