A new report from workforce management platform Quinyx shows that the transportation workforce has faced schedule inflexibility both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic—forcing workers to prioritize their jobs over their health.
The report says that 76% of transportation workers came into work sick before COVID-19 and 16% of transportation workers came into work sick during COVID-19—risking the health of themselves, their colleagues and customers.
In many cases, workers choosing to come into work sick have no other option, since only 11% of transportation workers have paid sick time. Many workers are coming into work because they cannot afford to miss a shift or are scared to lose their job. Almost half (45%) of transportation workers went into work sick during COVID-19 because they could not afford to lose pay, while almost one-third (30%) of transportation workers went into work sick because they could not find someone else to cover their shift.
Additionally, 23% of transportation workers went into work sick during COVID-19 because they worried they would lose their job if they did not go in. On top of that, 21% of workers think taking more than one consecutive sick day is a fireable offense.
According to Quinyx, the transportation industry struggled with retention before COVID-19. This could be attributed to the findings that show two in five (41%) of transportation workers feel their employer views them as temporary or disposable. On top of this, two in five (41%) of transportation workers make $11-$15 an hour at their job. As a result, the majority (58%) of transportation workers have considered leaving a job because they were unhappy with the work environment.
Lastly, Quinyx says 25% of transportation workers say their employer provided no training at all to help them do their job during the crisis.
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SOURCE: Quinyx
