- The Seafarers Happiness Index (SHI) Quarter 1 2021 results and findings has been out now.
- It reflects the seafarer conditions amidst a backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Seafarers Happiness Index (SHI) Quarter 1 2021 results and findings reflect the seafarer conditions amidst a backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, reports Standard Club.
Positive Outcomes
On a positive note, increasing signs of investments in non-work facilities onboard ships have not gone unnoticed. Companies are doing more to create a conducive environment to improve crews’ level of physical health with workout equipment such as gym and table tennis to entertainment gadgets such as game consoles and video on demand.
Food was another area that saw positive feedback with an increased standard of catering, cooking and ingredients as compared to previously. Nutritious and nourishing food coupled with an active lifestyle is what makes for a healthier mind and body.
Challenges to Look out
Otherwise, an often overlooked point on physical wellbeing is quality rest and sleep. Yet companies fail to see the value of providing good quality mattresses, bedding and pillows, risking tiredness and bad backs of seafarers in the long run.
Further to this, recurring feedback that echoed throughout most respondents was the level of workload at sea and how it is incommensurable with their rest hours.
Physical & Mental Pressure for Seafarers
Many expressed pressures to reduce manning even further to maintain a learnership when current crew sizes are already overstretched, forcing existing crew to double up and commit longer working hours, thereby compromising on the time they have to rest.
More troubling is the revelation of an endemic and systemic culture of fraud when it comes to time sheets of the crew. With many signing rest time sheets that are manipulated to appear compliant but are not a true reflection of seafarers working hours.
Lack of rest leads to fatigue. Long term fatigue can influence a seafarer’s ability to carry out day-to-day duties, and lead to ill health and reduced lifespan.
Publications on Seafarers’ Well-being
The club has a publication on seafarer wellbeing with tips on how to maintain an healthy overall wellbeing.
The Standard Club is a proud sponsor of the Seafarers Happiness Index, a report by Mission to Seafarers.
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Source : Standard Club
