ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Social support from colleagues is a key resource for employees and organizations, with beneficial effects on performance, employee well-being and resilience. Although the importance of social support is well-known, the factors that help to build and maintain social support are not equally well understood. OBJECTIVE: This study analyzes the impact of workgroup characteristics (i.e., workgroup composition regarding national diversity and tenure; workload) and the COVID-19 pandemic on employees' perceptions of instrumental and emotional support, and examines the mediating role of informal interactions. METHODS: The study is based on responses from 382 seafarers to a cross-sectional online survey. Hypotheses were tested using OLS regression and mediation analysis using PROCESS. RESULTS: Workgroup composition regarding national diversity had indirect effects on social support through informal interactions around social foci (here: joint leisure activities). High workload and pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic reduced interactions around social foci, thus contributing to the erosion of perceived social support. CONCLUSION: The findings provide insights on the development of social support, suggesting that informal interactions provide an important mechanism for the development of social support at work. From a theoretical perspective, this highlights the value of a relational perspective on the development of social support, a perspective that is based on the insight that social support is embedded in social relationships. From a practical point of view, this indicates that organizations can proactively foster the development of social support through practices that shape workgroup characteristics and social foci.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , COVID-19/epidemiology , Cross-Sectional Studies , Humans , Pandemics , Social Support , WorkloadABSTRACT
While commercial shipping remained vital for maintaining global supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic, measures imposed to control the spread of infection have disrupted crew changes and impacted interactions with port personnel and among crew members on board. Initial reports indicate that this affected work and life on board, the length of seafarers' time on board as well as seafarers' employment and family concerns. However, the consequences for seafarers' well-being are not well understood. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on seafarers' mental health and chronic fatigue, and to analyze the role of potential mitigating factors, notably onboard peer support, external support and Internet quality. Survey responses from 622 seafarers on international commercial vessels were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings suggested that the impact of the pandemic increased seafarers' fatigue and mental health problems. However, they also indicated ways of mitigating the negative impact of the pandemic and increasing resilience by enhancing support from fellow crew members on board, ensuring the availability of external support and providing fast and reliable Internet access.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures implemented to curb its transmission have altered workplaces and challenged occupational health and safety in unprecedented ways, with high levels of mental distress reported across several industries. In the maritime industry, occupational health and safety risks, including psychosocial risks, were a concern already before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, knowledge about the prevalence of mental health problems and the factors associated with them is still limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the effects of respondent and work-related characteristics on seafarers' self-reported symptoms of depression and anxiety. Data came from two cross-sectional convenience samples of seafarers on international commercial vessels, surveyed before (Npre-pandemic = 793) and during the pandemic (Npandemic = 504). Matching the two samples on respondent and work-related characteristics using propensity scores, we found that the pandemic contributed to significantly higher levels of depression and anxiety. Further analyses showed that seafarers with longer work periods, those who had been on board longer than expected, and those working on vessels registered with "Flags of Convenience" reported significantly higher levels of both depression and anxiety during the pandemic, but not prior to the pandemic. Taken together, these findings suggest that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a deterioration of working conditions and increased mental health risks for seafarers. Practical implications for safe-guarding occupational health and safety during this and future crises are discussed.