All Black star Sir John Kirwan and motorsport legend Greg Murphy have joined forces to address the mental health struggles in the transport sector.

In an AutoSense podcast hosted by Murphy, mental health advocate and Land Rover NZ ambassador Sir John spoke about transforming ordinary tasks to help safeguard mental well-being in an industry rife with anxiety and depression.

Truck drivers are at heightened risk of anxiety and depression. Faced with isolation, long hours, stress to make deliveries on time and, in many cases, average physical health.

But Sir John says tapping into his six pillars of mental well-being – chill, do, connect, move, celebrate, enjoy – could be game-changing for the transport industry.

For example, breathing, walking slowly and savouring your morning coffee could help you if you’re a truck driver struggling with your mental health.

“My biggest thing is preventive mental health,” said Sir John aka JK. “I’ve been at the bottom of the cliff, and it’s way harder to come back once you are down there. Putting some simple pillars into your day is scientifically proven to be preventative mental health – don’t let yourself get unwell before you learn this.”

Kirwan admits that Kiwi truck drivers are hard to crack, given their demographic. The average age for our drivers is 45 – 59, and 20% are over 60.

“I’m in that age bracket myself, and we’ve been brought up to have three emotions: happy, sad, and don’t cry. We’ve been taught to harden up and not talk about our feelings, but we need to change that because that’s hurting us.

“Being vulnerable is the biggest strength you will have as a male. That doesn’t mean going around hugging trees – you’ll still have to work hard, provide for your family, and be tough and resilient in times of turmoil. But that doesn’t mean you can’t show emotion, be vulnerable and say, ‘I’m struggling today’.”

Leaders and managers play a critical role when helping drivers to open up. Kirwan, who dubs this practice ‘performance care’ says that if a manager is worried about the mental state of someone on their team, they need to keep stepping in.

The first step to addressing mental wellbeing is working out when you are feeling good. Kirwan describes this as being in your ‘Groov’, referencing his digital workplace wellbeing platform.

“Next time you stop your truck, write down when you’re in your Groov. That’s really important because you need to know when you are not in your Groov,” said JK.

“I call it my triple-A battery: first, you have to be aware if you’re not in your Groov, then you have to acknowledge it, and then you have to act. 

“If you’re feeling anxious about something, use that triple-A battery and build things into your day that will reset you. Breathing is a good one – you can breathe as you drive your truck or pull over and breathe.”

You can find out more about Groov here and listen to the podcast here.