Mental health and psychosocial risks are significant and growing across transport, often driven by other risks outlined in this guidance. Job insecurity, excessive and irregular working hours, work intensification, surveillance, isolation and the pressure associated with safety-critical responsibilities contribute to stress, anxiety and burnout, affecting transport workers’ performance, safety and long-term wellbeing.
Fatigue, lone working and isolation, violence and harassment, precarious employment, algorithmic management and climate-related disruptions compound these risks and limit workers’ ability to recover. Where workers lack control over schedules, income or conditions, risks become systemic rather than individual. Long-distance and remote working, where workers are separated from their support networks for extended periods, further exacerbate these risks.
Young workers are especially exposed due to limited experience and less confidence in recognising and challenging unsafe practices. Many work informally or precariously, where training, safety measures and workplace protections are lacking. These conditions increase mental health risk and negatively impact young workers’ retention in the sector.
Stigma around mental health persists across the transport industry, deterring workers from reporting or seeking support. Risks escalate unseen, threatening the safety of individuals, workplaces and the sector’s long-term workforce sustainability.
Mental health and psychosocial risks are created and exacerbated by the way work is organised. As part of HREDD, companies must assess how work organisation, staffing levels, performance pressures, surveillance practices and employment conditions contribute to mental health and psychosocial risk.
Prevention and mitigation mean safe working schedules, practices and workloads, and worker involvement in decisions about how work is organised. Mental health protections, policies and procedures must apply across all operations. This must include giving workers access to safe reporting mechanisms, confidential support services, and the ability to raise concerns without fear of retaliation or loss of income.
Effective prevention requires engagement with workers and trade unions, including the ITF, to identify risks and ensure protections apply consistently, with particular attention to young transport workers and other marginalised groups.