Women's Feelings about the Work-family Interface of Long-haul Truck Drivers
Author: Susan F. Moon
Publisher:
Published: 1998
Total Pages: 364
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKLong-haul truck drivers are absent from their families for prolonged periods of time. This paper examines the methods trucking families use to remain connected given such absences. Interviews with ten women married to long-haul truck drivers underwent qualitative analysis. Initially, personal profiles were developed to illustrate life experiences of the women. While the trucking industry set the context, the families decided how to cope with the lifestyle. Patterns of coping strategies developed by the families were described by the women. Coping strategies did not result from the efforts of one individual. All family members contributed to it in a dynamic process. One instrumental source of support was the driver's trucking company. Support systems instrumental in helping families utilize coping mechanisms were identified. Women used ambivalent thought to resolve negative emotions. In addition, an environmental analysis that compared the homes of the women and the homes of non-truckers was conducted to determine whether trucking women's homes reflected their lifestyle and attitudes toward their husband's absence. The trucking family engages in an atypical lifestyle, yet their issues are similar to those experienced by families whose husbands and fathers are home every night. Trucking families continually seek to find methods that allow them to think of themselves as normative.
