Modelling the association between psychosocial work factors and risky driving: mediating roles of burnout and engagement
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1766587
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Summary
This study investigates the relationships between psychosocial work factors, job burnout, job engagement, and risky driving behaviors among heavy goods vehicle (HGV) drivers in Ghana. Motivated by the high burden of road traffic crashes in Africa and the limited research on occupational health in developing countries, the authors sought to understand how workplace stressors and resources influence driver safety. The research addresses a critical gap where systemic work-related stressors are often overlooked in favor of individual behavioral interventions. The researchers conducted a cross-sectional survey of 1,575 HGV drivers (truck and tanker drivers) in Tema, Ghana, representing approximately 26.6% of the estimated target population. Data were collected via face-to-face interviews using validated questionnaires measuring job demands, job resources (supervisor and co-worker support), job burnout, job engagement, and risky driving behaviors. The study employed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test hypotheses derived from the Job Demand-Resource (JD-R) model. This analytical approach allowed for the examination of direct effects, mediation pathways, and the moderating (buffering) roles of job resources. The results indicated that high job demands were significantly associated with increased job burnout and risky driving behaviors. Conversely, high job resources were linked to lower job burnout and higher job engagement, though they did not have a statistically significant direct association with reduced risky driving. Mediation analyses revealed that job burnout partially mediated the relationships between both job demands and job resources with risky driving behaviors. Additionally, job engagement mediated the relationship between job resources and risky driving. Crucially, the study found that job resources significantly buffered the adverse effects of job demands on job burnout and moderated the influence of job burnout on risky driving behaviors. The model explained 78.5% of the variance in risky driving behaviors. The findings demonstrate that psychosocial work factors strongly influence driver well-being and safety outcomes in Ghana. The study concludes that balancing job demands and enhancing support systems, such as supervisor and co-worker support, are critical for reducing job burnout and associated risky driving. These insights suggest that occupational health and transport policies in developing contexts should integrate psychosocial risk management into road safety strategies. By addressing root causes through supportive work environments, stakeholders can improve driver health and reduce road accidents, contributing to broader sustainable development goals.
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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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