Good social working environment on board: Psychological safety and social support on Norwegian vessels (SocialShip)

Over the past decade, there has been increased attention to improving working conditions, health and safety on fishing vessels, cargo and passenger ships both in Norway and globally. To achieve this goal, it is crucial to create a good social working environment on board.

In this project, we investigate two key aspects of the social work environment: psychological safety and social support. Psychological safety and social support have well-documented positive effects in that they contribute to physical and mental health, inclusion, and lower employee turnover. Yet, we know little about which factors promote or inhibit psychological safety and social support, and the interaction between them. This project focuses on the causes and consequences of psychological safety and social support. In this way, we want to contribute to increased knowledge about how to create a better work environment in general, and on board Norwegian vessels in particular.

The project is based on the insight that psychological safety and social support reflect social norms, and examines two possible paths for the development of such norms: through maritime education programs, and through shipping companies' HR and employment arrangements.
We ask how psychological safety and social support influence each other, and how they affect stress and exhaustion, mental health, inclusion, bullying and harassment, and safety on board.

The project group consists of an interdisciplinary research team that will combine different methods in the study. First, we will conduct ethnographic case studies on board Norwegian commercial vessels. Second, we will conduct case studies of maritime education programs. And third, we will design a longitudinal survey among crews on commercial vessels. Based on the findings, we will develop recommendations in collaboration with stakeholders on how the working environment on board can be improved, and develop tools to create a more inclusive and sustainable working environment at sea.