Occupational stress in seafaring

Abstract

The seafaring occupation is characterized by specific psychosocial, work-related, and environmental stressors which have many potential negative effects on the seafarers’ health, safety, and well-being. From a review of the contemporary literature in the field arises the issue of implementation of occupational stress management programmes in the maritime sector. Occupational stress in seafaring is presented in this chapter within the broader theoretical frame of a transactional perspective on occupational stress. Therefore, this chapter relates to occupational sources of stress in seafaring, outcomes of stress at the individual and organizational levels, and important individual and organizational characteristics which may moderate or mediate links between sources of stress and outcomes. The links between occupational stressors and outcomes of stress should be further examined, using stronger study designs and taking into account the great number of individual and organizational variables. The final section gives recommendations for further studies in the field.