Measurement of stress among marine engineers: a methodological intervention

Abstract

Stress measurement has been an issue on the backburner for maritime sector. In this sector, job related stress has been considered as a way of life. With the onset of pandemic, understanding stress and its management on board ships has become a challenge and of paramount significance to seafarers and shipping companies. Extended contracts of employment, constraints on ships, work fatigue, away from family have all highlighted the need for scientific research on understanding stress on board ships, particularly during challenging times.

Most of the studies on stress management and measurement among seafarers employ generalized stress management techniques which do not illuminate sector specific stressors, particularly during uncertain times like Covid-19, let along illuminating general job related stressors. Lack of scientific understanding of stress and stressors in maritime sector adds on to this challenge and thus calls for a sector specific methodological intervention to understanding of stress and stressors among seafarers. In this backdrop, based on previous evidences and discussion with seafarers, a methodology is developed to use a structured questionnaire covering stressors like job itself, company policies, planning activities, away from family, cultural differences and lack of socialization. Since pandemic posed dynamic constraints in the maritime ecosystem, such a structured questionnaire would help in understanding stress and stressor among marine engineers during Covid-19 and facilitate in the development of appropriate stress management strategies by firms in maritime sector. Reliability and validity of the questionnaire has been checked.