Transit workers need mental health support and wellness resources: new report

Washington — Transit agency leaders must help support employee well-being with a clear commitment to addressing mental health, wellness and resiliency – and should provide resources, according to a new report.

Researchers from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Transit Cooperative Research Program used various research methods, such as multiple interviews and focus groups with frontline employees, transit agency management and union leadership.

From there, the researchers determined that a wide variety of experiences – including crashes, suicides and homicides – challenge transit workers’ mental health. Those challenges lead to post-traumatic stress disorder for 30% of transit operators, along with higher risk of anxiety and major depressive disorders.

Transit workers also may be exposed to chemicals and fumes, extended periods of sitting and stressful postures, difficult traffic and weather conditions, verbal and physical assaults, and lack of access to restrooms.

The report includes solutions that transit agencies can implement to address these factors. Those solutions include a toolkit to help workers improve their overall health and wellness.