There is an alarm for seafarers’ welfare as there are serious concerns about salary inadequacy especially for senior roles, workload and onboard connectivity.
Third quarter of decline in the Mission to Seafarers Happiness Index published yesterday sparks concern over downward spiral in seafarer wellbeing.
The third quarter report shows an overall fall in seafarer happiness to just 6.6 out of 10. This compares to 6.77 in the second quarter of 2023, and 7.1 in the first quarter of 2023.
The results showed a decline in most areas covered by the survey, including wages, workload and onboard connectivity, which saw the most significant fall in happiness levels.
The only areas to buck the trend of a decline in happiness for this quarter were shore leave, training and food, where the report showed marginal improvements.
Concerns emerged around salary inadequacy in this quarter’s feedback, especially for senior roles.
The survey also heard reports of how catering budget constraints can force nutritional compromises, underscoring the need for well-provisioned ships and skilled catering crews. Maintaining onboard gyms and exercise equipment was also seen as an issue.
Connectivity and communications represented a double-edged sword in this quarter’s feedback, enabling contact with loved ones, but potentially facilitating micromanagement from ashore. To address this, there were calls for guidelines to promote a healthy work-life balance through technology.
The issue of overwhelming workloads again came to the fore. This was felt to be driven by expanding regulations and administrative tasks. There appears to be a growing sense of unmanageable responsibilities among seafarers, which is causing a huge amount of stress.
From a more encouraging perspective, respondents spoke of the benefits that a seafaring life can offer, including a steady income and adventure, whilst recognising that it also demands substantial sacrifice.
The Seafarers Happiness Index, which is a quarterly survey conducted by The Mission to Seafarers, measures the wellbeing of seafarers through ten key questions about their work and life, designed to gauge sentiment about their experiences on board.
