Why mental health is worker health

mentally fit, and mariners who felt isolated or reported inadequate internet or phone access were more likely to have poor mental health. Ensuring there is connectivity both on and off the vessel is a potential way to improve mariner wellbeing.

65% of survey respondents reported they did not receive training or communication from their employer related to mental health. Providing mental health communication and training is a good place for many employers to start. Training can provide information to mariners on strategies they can use to optimize their mental health, and warning signs to look for in their crewmates. Mental health messaging from management also helps to normalize mental health from the top down, which can decrease mental health stigmas.

Think about a job you have had, or currently have. What aspects of that job don’t you like? For most of you, you are probably thinking about something that causes you stress or impacts your mental health. This could be lousy work hours, not getting along with your boss or co-workers, not getting paid enough, feeling underappreciated, feeling isolated or lacking support, having too much work on your plate, or something else that stresses you out.

I am an occupational health researcher and professor, and I study how work impacts health. While we know safety hazards and chemical exposures impact the health of workers by causing injuries or illness, less is known about what aspects of work impact mental health. This is where my expertise lies—I conduct research to better understand the relationship between work and mental health and help employers identify ways to improve the mental health of their workers.

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, my team deployed a survey to U.S. mariners to characterize how their unique work environment impacts worker mental health and identify solutions to improve mental health. Mariners often have physically demanding jobs, experience isolation while aboard, work atypical or long work shifts, and could experience traumatic events, such as injury, incident, illness, or weather-related events.

In short, mariners work tough but vital jobs, and the COVID-19 pandemic only increased their stresses and frustrations, particularly as they were forced to work under new and ever-changing protocols.

Full results from this survey were published in an academic journal and while these data were collected during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the findings remain applicable now.

In our survey of 1,384 mariners, about 20% were likely depressed, 22% likely had anxiety, and nearly 40% had high stress. Close to 10% of mariners had contemplated suicide or self-harm in the previous two weeks. But these rates weren’t uniform across the workforce. Younger mariners (particularly those aged 25-34) had much higher rates of depression, anxiety, and stress than older mariners, and female mariners had higher rates of anxiety and stress than males. As the maritime industry seeks to recruit and retain a diverse workforce and attract young workers, attention to the mental health needs of these populations will be important for the maritime industry to remain an attractive employment option.

We found that poor sleep quality was related to poor mental health, emphasizing the importance of good sleep hygiene and sleep-supportive schedules for mariners. Mariners who felt they had support from senior officers and someone to talk to on the vessel were more likely to be

Mariners also reported many barriers to accessing mental healthcare both when at home and when aboard a vessel—70% said they would not be able to start or continue mental healthcare onboard a vessel. Given the overwhelming evidence of the benefits of mental healthcare (with telemedicine being as effective as talking to a provider in person!), prioritizing easy access to mental healthcare and encouraging mariners to take advantage of mental healthcare both on and off the vessel could help to decrease rates of depression and anxiety in mariners.

Having a mentally fit workforce is not only beneficial for public health, but it is also beneficial to the bottom line. When workers aren’t mentally fit, they are more likely to be injured, which costs employers both money and time. Mentally unfit workers tend to exhibit poor decisionmaking and reduced productivity and are more likely to leave the workforce. Increased turnover can make it harder for an employer to recruit and retain workers, potentially leaving a vessel short staffed. Mariners work tirelessly for us every day to ensure we have access to all the goods we need. Taking steps to prioritize their mental health should be a top industry priority, and one that will provide a return on investment.

Ship Repair USA will bring together ship repair facilities and vessel owners and operators to discuss reasons why operators select specific yards, how to meet environmental and economic goals, and ways to keep vessels compliant and competitive through a ship’s lifespan of repairs, upgrades, retrofits, repowers and conversions.