Dockworkers’ health and safety. A cross-sectional study of self-perceived safety and psychosocial work environment amongst Danish dockworkers

Abstract

Background: This study aimed to determine the characteristics and association between self-perceived safety and psychosocial work environment amongst dockworkers in Denmark. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among dockworkers in three harbours in Denmark, using a triangulation strategy approach, with a questionnaire survey and telephone interviews. Both collection methods included questions on workplace safety, accidents, work environment, colleagues and management. The majority felt confident about the safety at the work place (88.8%) and agreed that good collaboration and teamwork among colleagues (95.4%) was the reason they felt safe. The majority were very satisfied with their job (76.1%). Moreover, the majority stated that they were thriving well in the changeable working hours (85.1%) and did not find it stressful to be a part-time worker with no guarantee of work (80.2%). 46.1% had never felt stressed, and only 7.9% had felt stressed often the last 2 weeks. The main source of feeling stressed was the combination of work and personal life (39.3%). The study population was 88 and the response rate of the questionnaire was 41%. Results and Conclusions: Due to the small study population and the distribution of answers, it was not possible to measure an association between self-perceived safety and psychosocial work environment; however, it was found that dockworkers were greatly satisfied with the working conditions, primarily because of good colleagues, flexible working hours and a satisfying pay cheque.

Correlation between Nutritional Intake, Physical Activity, and Occupational Stress with Blood Pressure in Dockworkers at Indonesia Fishing Port

“…It might be because the work of transporting goods from the ship to the port is considered not demanding by the workers, so they are not psychologically affected. It is in line with findings from a study conducted at three Danish ports, in which most dockworkers reported that their jobs were not stressful, and half of the workers had never felt stressed [31]. Furthermore, unlike workers in other industries, dockworkers are jobs that provide a lot of freedom in performing their tasks, decisionmaking, and working hours so that they generally feel more comfortable [32].…”