Helen Sampson. International seafarers and transnationalism in the twenty-first century

Abstract

Resenha de International seafarers and transnationalism in the twenty-first century

“Team Play”: Seafarers’ Strategies for Coping with Job Demands of Short Sea Cargo Shipping Lines

“…Hence, when coping strategies operating within existing constraints reach their limit, attempts to change organisational or industry constraints (e.g., crewing levels) could become the last resort, although, in practice, such attempts were often considered futile by interviewees, a view that may be widely shared by seafarers (cf. Baumler et al, 2021;Ljung & Lützhöft, 2014;Sampson, 2013). In line with other studies (e.g., Gander et al, 2011;Grech, 2016;Project Horizon, 2012), these findings draw attention to the constraints set by legislation as well as by industry and organisational practices for managing job demands and their effects.…”

“…Third, emotions, specifically whether the work itself is considered interesting or "fun", can be a consideration in individuals' decision to quit (Gu et al, 2020;Pauksztat, 2017b). Finally, emotions are critical because they affect not only individuals, but may spread to other crew members (Knudsen 2004;Pauksztat, 2017b;Sampson 2013) through processes of contagion or collective sensemaking (Menges & Kilduff, 2015).…”

“…For crews on cargo ships, key resources are associated with the industry (e.g., legislation concerning rest hours), the organisation (e.g., crewing levels, financial resources), and the vessel (e.g., facilities, equipment, and state of repair) (Gander et al, 2011;Østreng, 2007;Sampson, 2013). They provide the context that enables and constrains everyday coping strategies on board.…”

“…Moreover, there has been little research on the strategies used by seafarers for coping with job demands. Ethnographies and interview studies (e.g., Antonsen, 2009;Karjalainen, 2007;Knudsen, 2004;Østreng, 2007;Sampson, 2013) provide occasional glimpses of seafarers' coping strategies; however these are mentioned in passing in connection with other topics, rather than being the topic of explicit discussion. Survey studies (Andrei et al, 2020;Pauksztat, 2017a;Wadsworth et al, 2008) suggest that social support plays a role, but it remains unclear how exactly social support relates to particular coping strategies.…”

Maritime temporalities and capitalist development

“…Evenings and weekends are spent in a confined and hierarchical workplace where ‘[w]atch after watch, day by day, week after week, and month after month, sailors carry out … tasks while eating, sleeping and living aboard worksites in motion’ (Seltzer, 2004, p. 63). Crew are squeezed by the drive to maximise productivity for minimum cost in a contracted shipping time on the ‘structured space’ of the ship, where they reproduce daily routines for several months alongside their bosses (Sampson, 2013). While crew and officers are literally in the same boat, they are by no means equal.…”