Timewise calls for a job design revolution in logistics, as new report links unpredictable hours, gruelling schedules and poor control over working time to soaring sickness, safety risks and recruitment shortages.
Thursday, 26 March 2026: The UK’s logistics sector, which contributes £170 billion to the economy and employs up to 2.7 million workers, is on the brink of a worsening workforce crisis unless employers transform how frontline roles are designed and scheduled, according to a new report published today by Timewise in partnership with Trust for London.
The report, More than Miles: Designing healthier jobs in the logistics sector, reveals that unhealthy work patterns are a neglected factor in chronic shortages in road haulage, warehousing and delivery roles.
Unhealthy work patterns are forcing workers out of logistics
The report highlights that the transport and storage sector has:
These pressures have serious consequences including mental and physical health issues among drivers, higher rates of diabetes, fatigue-related safety risks, and high turnover in mission-critical roles.
Timewise warns that without urgent action, the ageing workforce – over half of long-haul drivers are over 50 – combined with poor retention could leave the sector unable to meet growing demand. Some 350,000 transport sector workers are due to retire by 2030, with skills shortages already acute.
Technology could help fix the problem – or make it worse
While the sector is rapidly adopting AI-driven scheduling, routing and productivity systems, the report cautions that these tools often intensify pressure rather than improve working conditions.
If deployed differently, the same technologies could enable managers to incorporate worker preferences for shift patterns, create predictable rosters and support flexible working – but only if operational leaders and tech providers prioritise worker wellbeing alongside efficiency.
Proof that redesigning jobs works
The report showcases promising examples of employers already modernising work design:
These cases demonstrate that fairer scheduling models can deliver measurable benefits for operations as well as workers.
Recommendations for policy and practice
The report sets out a practical six-step model for logistics employers and urges government, industry bodies, technology providers and major employers to work together to modernise work design across the sector.
It warns that new employment legislation seeking to tackle job insecurity and strengthen rights to flexible working are likely to have disappointing results in the logistics sector. It calls for policymakers to combine new laws with sector-wide initiatives to support effective implementation, overcome collective action hurdles, and support wider improvements in job design and work organisation in order to tackle workforce issues and reduce levels of sickness and inactivity in the sector. “Logistics keeps the country moving. But the people who power the system are under impossible pressure. Healthy job design isn’t a ‘nice to have’ – it’s the key to solving the workforce crisis.” Tess Lanning, Director of Programmes at Timewise
1.The full report is available here.
2. The report’s author Tess Lanning, Director of Programmes at Timewise, is available for interview
About Timewise
Timewise is a national non-profit organisation championing healthier working lives . Over the last decade we have worked with many of the UK’s leading employers to design work that works for modern lives – bridging the gap between employers and employees to ensure work meets people’s life needs.
This work is critical to tackling the ‘participation gap’ in the UK – ensuring that everyone has access to work that enables them to thrive – and in doing so helping employers to better attract, retain and progress diverse talent.
We undertake research, campaigns and policy work to highlight the social and business benefits of good flexible work. We offer bespoke solutions, training and innovation programmes to improve job design, scheduling and work organisation. We specialise in developing frameworks of good practice and tailored solutions for frontline sectors that face operational barriers to change, such as education, health, social care, retail, childcare and construction. We also work with industry leaders, government and other partners to support change at scale.
Trust for London are one of London’s largest funders, and have been supporting work for a fairer city since 1891. We believe all people have the right to reach their full potential and fund organisations working at the frontline of social and economic justice.
We value both lived and learned experience, and think it’s vital to include those with direct experience of the issues being worked on. To make sure people have the evidence needed to make change happen, we also fund work like London’s Poverty Profile and London’s Cost of Living Tracker.
Whatever we’re working on, all our funded projects have one core aim – to make London a better, fairer city.
