Through restful waters and deep commotion: A study on burnout and health impairment of Italian seafarers from the JD-R model perspective.

Seafarers’ mental health

Seafaring is a demanding profession both mentally and physically. The physical risks associated with maritime occupations, such as musculoskeletal problems, have been widely studied in the literature (Hansen et al., 2008; Remmen et al., 2023; van de Wijdeven et al., 2023), while psychosocial risk factors and dimensions of mental health have only been addressed in recent years, with a focus on specific issues such as burnout (Chung et al., 2017; Oldenburg et al., 2010, 2014; Wan et al., 2023), fatigue (Abila & Acejo, 2021; Oldenburg & Jensen, 2019) and sleep quality (Hystad & Eid, 2016; Lützhöft et al., 2011). Nevertheless, the number of studies dealing with these topics is still small and there are even fewer studies in the Italian context.

Seafarers may develop psychological or post-traumatic symptoms after experiencing a pirate attack during their working hours (Abila & Tang, 2014). A recent report on seafarers’ mental health shows that the prevalence of depression and anxiety affected 28% of the 1262 seafarers surveyed in 2019 (Lefkowitz & Slade, 2019). Some studies show that the factor that has the greatest impact on seafarers’ quality of life on board and mental health is isolation from family (Buscema et al., 2023; Lefkowitz & Slade, 2019).

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the maritime sector played a key role in the survival of the global economy. However, seafarers faced problems that affected their mental health, such as the inability to change shifts, shortages of supplies on board, increased workloads and overdue services (Baygi et al., 2021; Brooks & Greenberg, 2022; Pauksztat et al., 2022). Our study will aim to deepen the knowledge of psychosocial risk factors and possible factors that mediate the well-being of seafarers.

JD-R Model

Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory is a model of occupational psychology that assumes that the balance between job demands and individual and contextual resources influences work stress and well-being (Bakker et al., 2023). This theory is able to overcome the limitations of the most common theories of work stress, such as the two-factor theory (Herzberg, 1966), the job characteristics theory (Hackman & Oldham, 1976), the job demand-control model (Karasek, 1979), the effort-reward-imbalance model (Siegrist, 1996) and conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll et al., 2018). JD-R theory is general enough to be applied to all jobs and fits the project design as it can explain the job characteristics of seafarers through the categories of job demands and job resources. In addition, JD-R examines the process of health impairment and motivation, personal resources such as self-efficacy, resilience and humour at work, and the role of exhaustion in job performance (Bakker et al., 2023).

Few studies have examined the role of job resources on shipboard mental health using the JD-R model, suggesting that social support (from peers and external support) and the opportunity to go ashore for holidays, as well as access to communication and entertainment, may reduce mental health problems in seafarers (Pauksztat et al., 2022; Tang et al., 2022). Another study examines the role of JD-R among cruise ship crew and shows that the negative effects of job demands on work engagement are mitigated by workers’ individual strategies, such as recovery or work-related effort (Radic et al., 2020). A recent study investigates the moderating role of a fun environment onboard between job demands and turnover intentions. Specifically, the condition of low job demands and high fun environment, turnover intentions are significantly lower than in the low fun environment condition (Gu et al., 2020). To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to test the JD-R model on Italian seafarers and thus enriches the extant literature.

The activities of seafarers on board could be associated with a hierarchical environment in which the roles of all crew members are not interchangeable. Leaders or supervisors play a crucial role in steering not only the ship but also the crew members. For this reason, leadership styles such as transformational leadership could be very effective on board to prevent safety issues and motivate seafarers (Sandhåland et al., 2017). Transformational leadership can be summarised as a leadership model consisting of four factors: idealised influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualised consideration (Bass & Riggio, 2006).

Work and cognitive load

According to the JD-R model (Bakker et al., 2023), work and cognitive load are considered predictors of stress, burnout and health impairment in the workplace. A recent study confirms the role of high workload as a predictor of burnout in a large sample of Chinese seafarers (Wan et al., 2023). In addition, the role of human factors, such as cognitive load, is considered to be one of the most important dimensions influencing workplace safety, especially in the maritime environment (Seyfzadehdarabad et al., 2023). Fatigue and stress could be considered as consequences of high cognitive load over long periods of time in seafarers (Žagar et al., 2020). Hypothesis 1: Work and cognitive load (job demands) are positively related to health impairments through the mediation of job burnout.

Social support and transformational leadership

Living in an isolated environment for so long means that every seaman has to deal with every crew member. The hierarchical way in which seafarers are managed on board is a crucial issue for the quality of life of all seafarers. For this reason, leadership and social support could be considered as such resources according to the JD-R model (Bakker et al., 2023). Transformational and authentic leadership can be considered a resource that promotes the development of psychological capital and creativity according to recent studies (Rego et al., 2012; Yuen et al., 2020). By embodying social support and transformational leadership, crew members should be able to create a positive work environment that acts as a resource against burnout and health impairment (Lucas et al., 2021; Sampson & Zhao, 2003; Wan et al., 2023). Hypothesis 2: Social support and transformational leadership (job resources) are negatively related to health impairments through the mediation of job burnout.

Hypothetical model

The model aims to analyse the mediating role of burnout between the JD-R dimensions and health impairments, using years of navigation as a control variable, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Hypothetical model based on JD-R model.

Note. Ovals represent latent variables; square represents manifest variable.

Data collection and respondents

An online survey was conducted from February to May 2023 using the Qualtrics XM platform. The questionnaire used the JD-R model (Bakker et al., 2023) to investigate psychosocial risks on board. Respondents were recruited through snowball sampling and participation was voluntary. Through a dedicated website and thanks to the support of the unions in disseminating the questionnaire, 629 seafarers from all departments and ranks responded to the questionnaire. Informed written consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection. After excluding cases with missing values and workers employed in the catering department, the total valid sample for the present analysis was 239 seafarers. The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee [Prot. n. 0513027 del 03/10/2022 - UOR: SI000045—Classif. III/11]. Data analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS version 28.0.1.1 and MPlus version 8.

The gender distribution shows that 5.4% of the sample is female, reflecting the gender gap in the maritime environment (Baltic and International Maritime Council & International Chamber of Shipping, 2021). The average age was 39.44 years (SD = 12.81 years). Concerning the marital status of our sample, 47.7% were married, 25.1% were engaged, 20.5% were single, while the rest were divorced or widowed.

All ranks of deck and engine department were included in the study: 64.4% of seafarers were employed in the deck department. 18.8% of the seafarers were Captains, 30.1% were deck officers, 6.3% were deck cadets, 8.8% were deck ratings, 9.2% were Chief engineers, 14.6% were engine officers, 10.9% were engine ratings. 51.9% of the participants had more than ten years’ experience in shipping. Furthermore, 64.9% of the sample responded to the survey while on board.

The means and standard deviations of all the constructs studied are presented in Table 1, while Table 2 presents the correlations between all the constructs studied. We tested our hypotheses using a structural equation model (SEM) with MPlus version 8. We implemented bootstrap method to create 2000 bootstrap samples (Preacher & Hayes, 2008). Estimates of the indirect effect composed of the products of alpha paths (i.e., from job demands and job resources to burnout) and the beta path (i.e., from burnout to health impairment) were estimated with the associated 95% confidence interval (CI). If the CI does not include zero, then we consider the indirect effect to be statistically significant (p < .05).

Questionnaire and measures

Based on the studies related to the JD-R model, we selected as variables for job demands: Workload and Cognitive Load. Job resource variables were social support and transformational leadership, while the outcome variables were burnout and health impairment. Years of navigation were used as control variables.

Job demands

The Italian adaptation of the Psychological Workload and Physical Workload subscales of the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), which is one of the most common instrument for assessing workload, were used to examine work and cognitive load (Baldasseroni et al., 2001; Karasek et al., 1998). 6 items were used to examine workload (e.g., “I have too much work to do”) (Cronbach’s α = 0.882), while 4 items examined cognitive load (e.g., “My work requires my constant attention”) (Cronbach’s α = 0.831). All items on workload are rated on a 6-point scale from completely disagree (1) to completely agree (6), while the items on cognitive load are rated on a 5-point scale from completely disagree (1) to completely agree (5).

Job resources

Based on a previous study of the maritime sector, the following scales were selected to examine social support and transformational leadership (Yuen et al., 2020).

5 Items from the Multidimensional Perceived Social Support Scale (MSPSS) (Dambi et al., 2018; Zimet et al., 1988) were used to assess on-board social support (e.g., “I receive emotional help and support I need from my teammates”). The original MSPSS includes not only perceived social support from colleagues, but also from family and friends. Following Yuen et al. (2020), it was decided to use only social support from colleagues. The items are measured on a 5-point rating scale from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5) (Cronbach’s α = 0.916).

5 items from the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (Schuckert et al., 2018) were used to explore transformational leadership on board (e.g., “My superior spends time teaching and coaching”). These items relate to: attributed idealised influence, behavioural idealised influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individualised consideration. The scale is measured on a 5-point rating scale from not at all (1) to always (5) (Cronbach’s α = 0.890).

Outcomes

We used the Maslach Burnout Inventory (Maslach & Leiter, 2016) to measure burnout on board, using 6 items as conducted by Yuen et al. (2020). Burnout is composed of emotional exhaustion (e.g., “I feel emotionally drained from work”), depersonalisation (e.g., “I worry that this job is hardening me emotionally”), and reduced achievement (e.g., “I have accomplished many worthwhile things in this job”). The items are measured on a 5-point rating scale from never (1) to always (5). To increase the reliability of burnout, the item “I have accomplished many worthwhile things in this job” was removed from the analysis Cronbach’s α increases from 0.726 to 0.780.

According to the JD-R theory (Bakker et al., 2023) and following job design of Wan et al. (2023), health impairment was measured by two different indicators: musculoskeletal pain and bad quality of sleep. Musculoskeletal pain was measured using 8 items from the psycho-physical symptoms indicator (e.g., “How often did you suffer the following symptoms: Muscle and joint pain”) by Avallone and Paplomatas (2004) (Cronbach’s α = 0.867). Items are measured on a 5-point rating scale from never (1) to always (5). The Italian adaptation of the Mini Sleep Questionnaire (Natale et al., 2014) was used to assess the quality of sleep on board. This scale consists of 10 items (e.g., “I have had problems sleeping”) measured on a 7-point rating scale from never (1) to always (7) (Cronbach’s α = 0.894).

Ethics

The study protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee [Prot. n. 0513027 del 03/10/2022 - UOR: SI000045—Classif. III/11].

Consent to participate

Informed written consent was obtained from all participants prior to data collection. The procedure was approved by the Ethics Committee.