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Working offshore on oil rigs is nerve-wracking, highly demanding and distressing. It requires a lot of physical and psychological strength to fulfill the work demands, bear personal issues and deal with family matters, all at the same time.
It is a well-understood phenomenon that working offshore involves a unique set of stressors, entirely different from the onshore job. Offshore job locations are usually in remote areas and dangerous territories, adverse work environment, extreme weather conditions, and high-risk environment. Living in a controlled condition and restricted environment creates a sense of seclusion and isolation from the rest of the world.
Above all this, more working hours per day, night shifts and working with heavy machinery makes things more difficult. Along with these work-related issues, family-related stressors, make matters worse. Living away from family, missing out all the important family moments and difficulty in contacting family because of unavailable communication resources makes an individual miss his family even more.
There is another thing; your wife missed you when you away, but when you come home, she doesn’t know how to behave around you because she’s no longer used to your presence. This condition is known as intermittent husband syndrome.
Working and living in such stressful and extreme conditions and dealing with this pressure without familial support, can affect you physically and psychologically. But, as compared to physical health, psychological health is quite an ignored aspect in the organizations in general and in offshore employment specifically.
Mental health problems and offshore workers
The mental health of offshore employees are at risk, and one of the main reasons behind this is the macho culture of offshore jobs. You are supposed to be tough and unemotional when you come to this field, and with this mindset, it is complicated to show any emotions or share your problems. Thus most of the employees do not confide on any colleague.
Lack of friends and inability to share emotions leads to isolation and loneliness, which are the most significant predictors of depression. Further, anxiety is also one of the main problems of oil rig workers. Free-floating anxiety regarding the uncertain situations at the platform, stress related to physical hazards and work-overload and fear of being away from home are quite prevalent in offshore workers. Different researches have reported that the increased rate of psychological distress and mental health issues lead to a higher prevalence of occupational incidents causing physical injuries and costing lives.
According to Parks (1992), anxiety in offshore workers can be the result of pervasive tension and apprehension of the offshore environment. She also added that psychosocial and physical stressors increase the levels of anxiety and pressure at work.
Along with tension and anxiety, when the personality of the offshore employees was assessed, most of the individuals working at rigs possess Type B personality traits. Type B personalities are calm by nature and do not rush towards their goals and objectives. They usually solve the problem without getting stressed, and they prefer to have a balance between work and relaxation time. They can become achievers but they work slowly and steadily towards their goals thus can take some time to reach their destination. Also, they are more patient and easy-going.
According to a research study, individuals with type B personality tend to perform better than individuals with type A personality traits in stressful situations like family conflicts, daily hassles, and criticism. They are also known for better problem skills in the absence of time constraints. They tend to team up with sociable and affable people and they tend to feel more stressed when their interpersonal relationships are disturbed. They usually work with motivation when the incentive is more explicit, and they need social approval.
Also, Sutherland and Cooper (1986) found that those workers who had predominantly type A personality traits were more dissatisfied with their jobs and reported more accidents and injuries as compared to those with type B personality traits. This indicates that type B personalities (calm people) are more suitable for this job as compared to type A personalities (hot tempered and competitive).
How to deal with stress?
This indicates that oil rig workers have a stable personality in general and it is because of these personalities that they endure such drastic working and living conditions with such patience. It is entirely possible that stress makes them tired, frustrated and irritated but, on the inside, they are the same and need to relax and chill after work.
You can use different coping strategies to deal with stress in healthy ways and to minimize anxiety. Try to maintain a positive work environment and develop healthy relationships with your colleagues. Utilize your free time productively; have plenty of hobbies, exercise outside and spend time with family.
If you like to be alone, take some time daily to recharge, if you are a people person then come up with a mutual activity. There are endless options you can use to cope with the stressful work environment and deal with sadness.
A Silver Lining
Despite all the above-mentioned psychosocial stressors, here are a few favorable aspects of working offshore. These include enhanced pay rates, long holidays after hectic working days, inhibition on smoking and alcohol use (it is good for health) and early retirement.
You possibly select this job because of abovementioned reasons or maybe some other reasons, so don’t forget that reason. And if you at any point feel that the stress is too much and you can't take anymore, take help.
RigAdvisor
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