The East Midlands has come out on top as the best place to work in the trades, according to a new study by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.
The nationwide survey revealed that respondents in the region report less stress, fewer working hours and shorter commutes than their peers across the UK.
At a time when the majority of the UK’s van drivers (61%) have seen an increase in working hours, almost half (49%) of those based in the East Midlands saw no change in the hours they work.
Those in the region also reported working fewer hours each day (9.03 hours) than the average UK tradesperson (9.25 hours).1 Conversely, those in the North West (9.49 hours), London (9.54 hours) and West Midlands (9.81 hours), came in above the UK average.
What’s more, East Midlands-based tradespeople recorded shorter commutes than any other region, driving 67.95 miles every day for jobs, versus 103.39 miles in London and 98.85 miles in the North West. With the average daily distance as high as 88.37 miles, this means those in the East Midlands are driving 20 miles less than the average tradesperson each and every day and potentially saving as many as 82.42 hours of driving, each year.
It’s not a surprise, therefore, that those in the region cited less stress than respondents elsewhere in the UK. When asked how regularly van drivers have felt overwhelmed by work-life balance over the last 12 months, ‘weekly’ came in as the most popular response for all regions, except the East Midlands and the North West, with tradespeople there selecting ‘monthly’ as a better match.
This is driven home by the fact that, over the same period, tradespeople in the East Midlands turned down fewer jobs (2.84 days’ worth) as a result of mental health issues, compared to an average of 3.58 days, with London (4.05 days), the West Midlands (4.06 days) and Wales (5.75 days) reporting the highest number of jobs lost.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles’ index found that tradespeople in London face some of the most challenging working conditions – this includes more demanding hours and significantly further commutes than the average UK tradesperson.
Index Breakdown By Region
| Average weekly working hours | Stress (% feeling overwhelmed at least once per week) | Average weekly
work mileage |
INDEX TOTAL | |
| East Midlands | 9.03 | 30% | 67.95 | 32 pts |
| Northern Ireland | 8.32 | 71% | 75.06 | 27 pts |
| Wales | 8.73 | 37% | 90.90 | 24 pts |
| South East | 9.16 | 41% | 73.61 | 24 pts |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 9.12 | 40% | 78.59 | 24 pts |
| South West | 9.19 | 37% | 80.07 | 23 pts |
| North East | 9.31 | 38% | 79.94 | 22 pts |
| Scotland | 8.69 | 41% | 91.66 | 20 pts |
| East of England | 9.40 | 39% | 86.66 | 17 pts |
| North West | 8.49 | 20% | 98.85 | 17 pts |
| West Midlands | 9.81 | 37% | 86.33 | 17 pts |
| London | 9.54 | 38% | 103.39 | 12 pts |
| Average | 9.25 | 39% | 88.37 |
Craig Cavanagh, national fleet manager and mental health first aider at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, said: “We understand the challenges that many of the UK’s tradespeople are experiencing, but the regional differences highlighted in this index have really been eye-opening. Running a business is never easy, and that’s why van drivers up and down the country are asking for more support from us to keep them on the road. The services we provide for our customers – including our comprehensive roadside assistance, fixed-cost maintenance, tailored servicing plans and more – are all designed to deliver exactly that.”
