Modelling Psychosocial Work Factors and Risky Driving in Ghana: Mediating Roles of Burnout and Engagement
DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5711969/v1
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Summary
This study investigates the relationships between psychosocial work factors, burnout, job engagement, and risky driving behaviors (RDB) among Heavy Goods Vehicle (HGV) drivers in Ghana. Motivated by the high rate of road traffic fatalities in Ghana and the underexplored role of occupational stressors in low-and middle-income countries, the research addresses the gap in understanding how systemic workplace factors influence driver safety. The study aims to extend the Job Demand-Resource (JD-R) model by examining how job demands and resources affect driver well-being and safety outcomes, specifically testing the mediating roles of burnout and engagement, and the moderating role of job resources. The researchers conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1,575 HGV drivers (truck and tanker drivers) in Tema, Ghana, representing 26.6% of the estimated target population. Data were collected via validated questionnaires translated into Twi and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The study operationalized job demands as psychological pressures such as long hours and tight schedules, and job resources as social support from supervisors and co-workers. The analytical framework tested direct, mediating, and moderating pathways to determine how these factors interact to influence risky driving behaviors. The results indicate that high job demands significantly increase both burnout and risky driving behaviors, while high job resources reduce burnout and enhance job engagement. Burnout was found to partially mediate the relationship between job demands and risky driving, as well as between job resources and risky driving. Job engagement partially mediated the relationship between job resources and risky driving. Notably, job resources did not directly reduce risky driving behaviors. However, moderation analyses revealed that job resources significantly buffer the adverse effects of job demands on burnout and mitigate the impact of burnout on risky driving. The model explained 78.5% of the variance in risky driving behaviors, demonstrating strong predictive relevance. The findings suggest that psychosocial factors are critical determinants of safety among Ghanaian HGV drivers. The study concludes that interventions must move beyond individual behavioral corrections to address systemic workplace stressors. Enhancing social support systems and balancing job demands are essential for reducing burnout and promoting engagement, which indirectly improves safety. The research extends the JD-R model by demonstrating the buffering role of downstream social support in resource-limited settings, offering a framework for policymakers and employers to develop holistic occupational health strategies that protect driver well-being and reduce road accidents.
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| Stage | Outcome | Tool | Model | Prompt | Attempts | Completed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| discover | success | Crossref | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| archive | success | canonical_url | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| extract | success | cached | — | — | 2 | 2026-06-26 |
| clean | success | clean | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| chunk | success | chunk | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| embed | success | embed | Qwen/Qwen3-Embedding-8B | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| promote | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-20 |
| summarize | success | llm | qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant | summ-v5 | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
| tag | success | vector_similarity | — | — | 6 | 2026-06-20 |
| verify | success | — | — | — | 1 | 2026-06-26 |
Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-26; verification: verified.
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