Work demands and need for recovery from work in ageing seafarers

Abstract

This study was conducted on a population of seafarers serving in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), the organisation providing support at sea to the Royal Navy. An investigation into work-related fatigue in RFA personnel onboard ships was carried out following changes to the regulations concerning maximum retirement age, to determine whether age was associated with recovery from work demands. A total of 322 personnel aged from 19 to 61 years were interviewed onboard seven RFA ships. The Need for Recovery scale was used to measure fatigue and work demands exposure was measured using the Baecke questionnaire and the NASA Task Load Index. It was found that older personnel did not have higher work-related fatigue than younger personnel. A measure of frustration at work was found to be most strongly related to work-related fatigue, even in seafarers who carried out physically demanding jobs. Work-related fatigue was found to accumulate over time in personnel who continued to be exposed to work demands onboard a ship. Finally, a relatively high level of work-related fatigue was found in the RFA sample as a whole, which may hold implications for management interventions. It was concluded that older personnel in the RFA can cope with the day-to-day demands of working life as well as younger personnel, possibly due to a 'survivor effect', whereby those personnel who do not cope as well with work demands leave and find a different job, leaving only those who successfully deal with the demands of working life at sea. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: In order to manage work demands in seafarers, it is important to identify the most fatiguing demands. Age is of interest because of the demographic ageing of the workforce. Age was not associated with a higher need for recovery. Psychological work demands had a greater effect on need for recovery than physical work demands.

A Mixed Methods Study of the Effects of Clicker Use on Math Anxiety and Achievement in Mathematics

“…Because the sample included only the students who finished the calculus course, a "survivor effect" was clearly present in the final course grade data and also likely present among other variables as well. This finding is consistent with previous studies that identified a "survivor effect" among participants in research in employment (Bridger, Brasher, & Dew, 2010;Osmotherly & Attia, 2006), medical (Edelstein, Kritz-Silverstein, & Barrett-Connor, 1998;Streiner, Patten, Anthony, & Cairney, 2009), and business management (Siggelkow & Rivkin, 2009) contexts. I believe a self-selection bias may have also been present, especially among the interview participants.…”

Seafarer fatigue: a review of risk factors, consequences for seafarers’ health and safety and options for mitigation

“…Practical countermeasures to improve the conditions of older workers should aim to fit work demands flexibly to ageing workers with different levels of work ability, health and social needs [68]. In a study of naval seafarers, older personnel did not suffer from more work-related fatigue than younger personnel, but work-related fatigue was found to accumulate over time with continuous exposure to work demands on board [69].…”

Trainee-led evaluation of the need for intershift recovery among emergency department doctors in the United Kingdom: the TIRED-UK study

“…4,5 Subsequent smaller studies have indicated norms in a range of health-and non-health related occupations. [6][7][8][9][10][11] validated in two large cross-sectional studies (n=80 860), where norms within the Dutch general population have been generated. 4,5 Subsequent smaller studies have indicated norms in a range of health-and non-health related occupations.…”

“…4,5 Subsequent smaller studies have indicated norms in a range of health-and non-health related occupations. [6][7][8][9][10]…”