office clerk

truck driver

dock worker

diesel mechanic

trailer mechanic

Old Dominion Freight Line

Work-life balance
Work-life balance at Old Dominion Freight Line is horrible for the bill entry position.  This is a third shift position where you may go in at 730pm (sometimes later or earlier. Who knows , and then get off at 330am or sometimes 2 hours later. You literally are so tired and mentally exhausted that you just go home and sleep until the next shift. If you have friends or family, kiss them goodbye. The managers and superiors know that the work can be done during the day but they don’t care if it will make things easier for their employees... it’s all about the customer and the customer only.

Pay & benefits
My pay and benefits at Old Dominion Freight Line are the only things that were nice about the job. The only thing is that you need to work your Butt off to make sure you keep yourself at the same pay ( it’s based off production like a factory except you’re only sitting down typing and staring at a computer the whole entire time). If you slip even once or twice, you’re gone!

Job security and advancement
In terms of job security at Old Dominion Freight Line, I think you need to pray that you never have a bad week or two and that you never hurt your hands. You hurt your hands or fingers and you’re gone and your job will be on Indeed in less than 24 hours. They care none at all about their employees feelings.

Management
In general, managers at Old Dominion Freight Line don’t care about their employees and what could be best for them. If you work during the day doing other positions , you’re treated like kings and queens though so I’ve heard.

Culture
Collaboration with my colleagues at Old Dominion Freight Line is ...well I never experienced that. We weren’t really allowed to even talk to anyone unless we were taking one of the only TWO 15 minute breaks during our 8.5 to 10 hour shift.

Overall
My experience working at Old Dominion Freight Line was okay at the beginning but after so many years of doing the same thing and hearing from someone that they have worked over 20 years and never was offered an advancement was really eye opening. If you’re going to be working in the bill entry department, go in with a mindset that this job is only temporary and you will be okay. Don’t be like one of those people who got stuck for decades. Having no social life is not good for anyone. You will lose all your friends working these weird hours for this company.  I also did not like the poor and MONTHS late precautions they took for Covid-19. They did not start requiring masks in the building until about month 3.5 of the pandemic and I’m still not sure why this work could not be done from home like the other positions in the company could  , it’s all off of a computer.

I have worked with many great companies in my transportation tenure.  I was blessed to be a part of UPS Freight, Saia, Dayton Freight and finally ending with Old Dominion.  Dayton Freight was very similar in their business model for success so those two companies by far exceeded my expectations from a sales standpoint.  The operational side was also very supportive not only working with sales but with the customers to meet operational needs.  That being said, I went through 3 Service Center Managers in my less than 3 years at Old Dominion.  Knowing friends that have worked or do work for OD, I felt like I won the lottery when I was hired as a Solutions Specialist.  My original SCM retired 2 months after he hired me and it went downhill from there with 2 other managers during my tenure.  I can honestly say I have never worked for a SCM and Regional Manager that was so unsupportive.  There was a lot of turnover at the Asheville Service Center and no one is asking "why" vs. just letting you say goodbye.  The culture at corporate is the best of the best, but unfortunately that is not who manages you on a daily basis.  The SCM, who is still there feels that micromanaging someone who has been in the industry for a very long time and past President's Club at each company I worked for was productive.   It was constant daily emails with nothing positive, directed to me only even after growing my territory 35% and being #2 in the region for TL sales.  While the salary and bonuses were excellent, my health was not due to the stress of one person.....i.e. the SCM.  Steve Jobs quotes "people don't leave great companies, they leave bad management"....couldn't be more true.  I was so proud to work for OD and loved the relationships I had not only with the customers, but the drivers and the ops people that worked diligently to make OD the best LTL carrier in the industry.  I think all managers should go through training on how to manage employees properly vs. using fear tactics.  You keep a SCM who doesn't know how to manage people and the end result is you lose a lot of good employees.  Those employees go to another carrier and the customers usually follow.  Doesn't seem like that is a good business model for a great company.  In conclusion, during my tenure, I had an employee (driver) make in inappropriate comment to me "in front of my SCM" and nothing was ever done.  What I was told by the "then" SCM, I needed to let it go.....So after not letting it go, 2 months later he finally got smart and talked with someone at Corporate and they told him it had to be documented.

Pros:

- Stable Employment: Provides consistent work hours and a predictable schedule.
- Remote Work Option: Availability for remote work, though the requirements are stringent.

Cons:

- Overtime: Mandatory overtime is common, sometimes extending to 10-hour workdays.
- Time Off: Difficult to secure time off due to inadequate coverage. Requests need to be made months in advance.
- Breaks: Lunch breaks are limited to 30 minutes, with two optional 15-minute breaks. (Personally, I often felt I didn't have the luxury to take those 2 optional 15 mins due to the intense workload.)
- Career Advancement: Limited opportunities for upward mobility.
- Work Environment: Numerous small rules that can feel restrictive and stress-inducing.
- Job Nature: The role resembles a factory or assembly line job under the guise of an administrative position, leading to high stress levels.

Performance Metrics:

- High performance standards for bill processing. Employees need to maintain a fast pace with minimal errors to qualify for remote work. Falling short of the targets can jeopardize one's position.
- The job revolves around constant data entry, which can be stressful when faced with complex tasks that slow down productivity.

Work Environment:

- The job's demands can create a tense environment where employees are competing to handle simpler tasks to maintain their metrics.
- The pressure to maintain high productivity affects one's ability to do things like leaving one's desk to get water/coffee/a snack, or stretching. It certainly takes a toll.

Turnover Rate:

The high turnover rate is often attributed to the night shift, but in my experience, it is more related to the challenging working conditions and the pressure to meet strict performance metrics.

Overall Opinion:

While the company offers stable employment and a remote work option, the high stress levels and stringent performance requirements make it a challenging place to work long-term. It's advisable to consider this role as a short-term employment opportunity to save up while looking for something more suited for a better work-life balance.

The work load is easy, you get handed your assignment, complete it, and return for your next work order. If you don't mind keeping to yourself the job will go by with ease. People have been threaten in trailers and outside in the parking lot. Sad to say it but find a click since the company likes to play blinded by it all.

Besides that the place is a total wreck! Unless you are calling corporate and filing complaints to HR you are a sitting duck. Those that complain to management are given assignments with no follow up or performance discipline. The good guys working to make a decent living are held responsible to pick up the slack of the work load and are written up regularly since they do not create hostility. Anyone who threatens to call corporate or HR have their write ups dismiss.

Attendance is ridiculous, the same employees who refuse to work also call off weekly. Crazy how 2 different people can be discipline for a Verbal write up when 1 employee has 3 call offs and the other employee has 30. 10x's the amount but once again because the fear of confrontation the problem employees have their way.

Promotions are based off favoritism. If you want to move up within the company you better love football, have a kid, and hangout with either ATM's, TM, or VP otherwise your future is slim picking. Think you'll walk in to learn how to become a driver? You better have a class A otherwise expect to see the dock for several years and survive the environment. Get denied because you work hard and get coached once or get denied because you're a bad employee.

Management is not align and each shift is ran like night and day regardless if you're on the dock or office. Everyone's ego is so big that they all work against each other and literally jeopardize the operation daily because they each think they're to good for the job or push the responsibility to the next guy.

Company events or competitions are jokes and non existing. They like to blame it on CV-19 nowadays but they had stop before it happened. Upper Management's word is trash and you will be given broken promises and incentives regularly. Don't believe me, ask the employees how many BBQ's or events they are still waiting on and how often the management team claim to say its going to happen. 

Pros:
	•	Opportunity to earn above-average income
	•	Work itself is not physically demanding

Cons:
	•	Uncomfortable and unsafe work environment
	•	Disorganized dock operations
	•	Unfair and inconsistent productivity metrics
	•	Questionable management practices
	•	Minimal job security during slow periods
	•	Overtime pay only after 50+ hours (excluding lunch)
	•	Inconvenient shifts and poor work-life balance

Review:
This company offers the chance to make decent money, but nearly everything else about the job is frustrating. While the actual tasks aren’t hard, the working environment is harsh. The facility uses an open-dock system, meaning there are no doors to block out weather when trailers aren’t present. This creates extremely uncomfortable conditions, especially in bad weather.

There is no structure for how people move through the dock, which leads to chaotic and potentially dangerous situations. On top of that, their method of tracking productivity is deeply flawed. Productivity is measured by how many orders you process per hour—regardless of the number of items in each order. This means someone handling three 1-piece orders looks more productive than someone moving three 15-piece orders. Even when you move more freight, it doesn’t count if it’s fewer total orders. Management refuses to acknowledge how flawed this system is.

Administrative staff have also been known to push employees to ignore doctor’s restrictions, which raises serious ethical and safety concerns. When freight is low, it often feels like they’re just looking for reasons to write people up or let them go.

You’re expected to work 50-hour weeks regularly, but overtime doesn’t begin until after 50 hours, and because they subtract your lunch break, you really have to work around 52.5 hours to see time-and-a-half.

Scheduling is also a major downside—there are no good shifts. You’ll either work midday, overnight, or extremely early in the morning, leaving little room for a normal social life or family time.

In short, this is the kind of job that works best if you don’t have many other options, or if you’re single and don’t mind sacrificing your time and comfort for the paycheck.


I started as a dock worker in 2001 while attending college. I learned everything i could about all 3 shifts until i was proficcient enough to route freight for city and over the road. I was quickly promoted to dispatch and OS&D demanding to learn every aspect of the industry. This allowed me to Open a terminal in Sarasota where I was 2nd in command handling customer service, accounts receivable, IT, dock and yard management, city and over the road dispatch. After the terminal was successful with the southeast regions best operating ratio I was called back to Tampa to fix there city dispatch. After 2 years of record breaking sales and service I was asked to move to Ocala and spearhead there inbound operations. after two months we were able to bring the operating ratio and customer service to all time records. meanwhile my home was in Riverview outside of Tampa and the market was not condusive to a sale. The 3 hour commute became too much and I had to part ways after 7 years. the hardest part was leaving for a job closer to home. I made a lateral move to EDI in Lakeland but unfortunately the companies upper management had put the company out of business. I left on good terms from ODFL but a hiring freeze kept me from returning. I truly love the company and have been told I can return but I am looking for a job here in Tampa near my family. A typical day for me was handling everything, which i truly enjoyed. It gave me a challenge everyday and never felt like a job. I have always considered them family and what i Learned there will follow me forever. I have nothing but respect for upper management. They are a cutting edge company that flourished even during the recession. I am forever greatful to the for allowing me to learn each department and woulkd not be the man I am today without their confidence in me and my confidence in them as a top tier company in there field.

ODFL was the best job I ever had and it was a true blessing for my family and for my life.  They have high employee retention, so I would feel very fortunate to work for them again, and if I have the opportunity I will.  Leaving ODFL was one of the most difficult decisions of my life, and if I thought I had had a better option I would have taken it. After 11 years with them I left because of needing time off for a sibling who had terminal cancer after we both lost our parents that year, and I needed to use my 401k to live on for a while.

I found ODFL to be generally respectful to their drivers and it seemed like they had a hands-off policy, giving us room to figure things out and do our best.  They have high standards of service and expected us to do our jobs well.  We had regular safety meetings in person and opportunities to have our concerns met and our questions answered.  They have an open door policy, so you never felt like you had to fight to get any personal or professional needs heard or met by management.  When my parents passed they were generous with pay to cover much of my missed work and liberal with the time I needed.  They had regular paid meals out at good restaurants to celebrate the accomplishments of our Service Center and gave us awards for our progress and milestones achieved.  The maintenance on company trucks was excellent and they would take care of you as needed in their express bays, whether you had a problem with your truck or a trailer, and if your truck needed more serious work on occasion, they would give you a replacement truck while repairs were being made. The overall work environment was very good.

At one point I really liked this job... I felt like I could retire here for the work flow was good, Pay was definitely good, benefits was on point and etc... Well I never had a problem with overnight shift other than the manager is a complete rude but employees at overnight shift was fast, team work, honest and straight forward. However day shift were all kinds of shady! Ever since they promoted this guy as crew leader. It all went downhill from there. Not only they have this inner circle where if you’re not part of it, they’ll target you and make sure you don’t get any raise nor new job positions, new schedule nor days off. He’s and his friend harassed me for months. He always went to the manager to get any ounce of leverage to gather more benefits for himself. I never bother anyone. Just simply come here, work, stay in my lane, mind my business and leave. They always snitched on me for no reason. At one point I thought the managers were great and fair to all but now he manipulates them into jumping straight to conclusions without even investigating for both sides. I reported to HR but they were absolutely no help! This job was extremely stressful to the point I had to quit for they was unfair, had major favoritism and they treat those with respectable productivity instead of seniority! Leaving this place was the best thing to happen! As I said in the title... This place was only good if you bend the knee and shine their boots otherwise they’ll give you a hard time! Not saying all branches are like this! Just this particular one! Again! Overnight shift would be the thing to do! Day shift here I’d run far away from! 

On the surface, Old Dominion seems like a great place to work; however, after you are lured in the with good pay and benefits, that's when things take a turn for the worst. Assuming you are a hard worker, all you're doing is setting yourself up for failure because the only thing you'll get out of that is more and more responsibility. There is no reason to do more than the bare minimum because you'll end up picking up others peoples slack with no added benefits besides the constant hounding from the joke of what they call "management."   Having bad management can ruin any good job, but the way they treat employees here is almost comical, especially since it seems like they don't hire or promote employees based on experience or performance into management positions but rather a popularity contest. You're also going to have zero work life balance at all working 50-60+ hours a week (most likely on nights), so unless you're single and in your early 20s, be warned.  The pay is not because they value your skills or the importance of the job, it is purely hush money to keep you from complaining to corporate about how bad the management runs everything. The high pay is deceiving anyway, because there is no overtime until after 50 hours. Often times it feels like a vast majority of the problems could be resolved if the people making the bigger decisions weren't making those decisions because of the power trips they get off them or if the mediocre dock workers they hired had more skills other than breathing and browsing the vending machines. At the end of the day you're a cog in a machine, and if you perform well, you'll be worked into the ground until you eventually brake. Working for Old Dominion makes me want to slam my face into a wall repeatedly. 

Dark & early 4 AM starts were a thing to get used to, but I learned to appreciate this because my days ended at noon, at the latest. After everyone (4 of us) arrived, our supervisor handed us our manifests that told us which trailers were ours to unload & away we went to our forklifts to start working. On some trailers, as we pulled more and more freight out, we would discover damaged and spilled loads either from the previous terminal "passing the buck", or from an improperly secured load. This wasn't a common incident, but it happened too often in my opinion. Problem solving skills were useful quite often; we had to use teamwork to level a crate or skid & the other had to pull in while it was level. After unloading the loads from the overnight drivers, we'd load the morning crew's trailers in order based on delivery. After everyone's trailer was loaded properly & ready to go, we'd be dismissed to go home.

This job showed me the importance of the delivery and freight industry to other businesses.

The supervisor that worked along side us was great; our Terminal Manager was not. I won't go into detail, but he had an issue with boundries and keeping his ego in check.

My co-workers were fun to work with, both professional and entertaining. Helpful when the were needed as well.

The hardest part was definitely the 4 AM start. This isn't counting the 30 minute commute to work. Other than that, the majority of work was done with a propane powered forklift.

The most enjoyable part was the 4 AM start, ironically. This meant that an 8 hour day for me ended at noon, giving me all day to do whatever I had to do.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Office clerk 1 salary reported	$11.50 per hour
Truck driver 1 salary reported	$33.50 per hour
Dock worker 24 salaries reported	$30.53 per hour
Diesel mechanic 24 salaries reported	$32.46 per hour
Trailer mechanic 12 salaries reported	$31.79 per hour

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