Zvjezdan Penezić

Descriptive study of job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction in a sample of Croatian seafarers.

BACKGROUND Given the general lack of studies on well-being in Croatian seafarers, the aim of this study was to determine the level and sources of their job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction. MATERIALS AND METHODS This descriptive study was conducted on a sample of Croatian seafarers (n = 530), employed in various functions on cargo ships. Using an online survey, we examined overall job satisfaction, and satisfaction with some specific aspects of work. Participants additionally responded to two open questions relating to the sources of their job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction, and these data were analysed using a qualitative approach. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The results showed a moderate level of overall job satisfaction, while analysis of the 10 specific facets indicated that the participants are, on average, most satisfied with payment, and least satisfied with the achieved benefits and work organisation on board. The results of the qualitative analysis showed that among the main sources of job satisfaction are: financial stability and security, the ratio of work days to days off, and the quality of days off, and the nature and dynamics of the work. On the other hand, sources of dissatisfaction relate primarily to: separation from home and family, the status of Croatian seafarers in the Republic of Croatia, and working and living conditions on board.

Lifestyle factors in Croatian seafarers as relating to health and stress on board

BACKGROUND Seafaring is characterized by specific stressors and health risks. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this article was to compare the prevalence of various lifestyle factors between the shipping and home environments, and in addition to test the relations between lifestyle factors, perceived stress on board, and health in seafarers. METHODS A total of 530 Croatian seafarers participated in an on-line survey. The questionnaire contained requests for demographic data and a set of questions relating to lifestyle, stress on board, physical health symptoms, and mental health. RESULTS The data showed higher sleep deprivation, higher levels of smoking and unhealthier diet at sea than at home, with prevalence of alcohol consumption and physical exercise being more favourable for the shipping environment. Sleep deprivation, unhealthy diet, lack of physical exercise, and smoking are shown as negative correlates of various measures of health. Stress on board was associated with sleep deprivation and unhealthy diet, and with more unfavourable physical and mental health. CONCLUSIONS The results give practical implications for promoting health in seafarers. Some of the lifestyle factors tested, such as alcohol use, smoking and physical exercise, fall rather under individual control, but others, such as a healthy, balanced diet on board and sleeping hygiene at sea, should be improved by shipping management.

Testing the associations between different aspects of seafarers’ employment contract and on-board internet access and their job and life satisfaction and health

Abstract The aim of this study was to test for associations between different aspects of contract and on-board internet access and seafarers’ satisfaction and health. Altogether 298 Croatian seafarers, all officers, employed on cargo ships, with a minimum work experience of two years with their current shipping company, participated in an online survey. The questionnaire included sociodemographic items, questions relating to their employment contract and internet access, and measures of job satisfaction, life satisfaction, mental health, and gastrointestinal and cardiovascular symptoms. Their job- and lifesatisfaction levels were higher for shorter duration on board, favourable ratio of work to non-work days, and compliance with the employment contract regarding the changes to work and non-work days. Mental health differed likewise but only in relation to two aspects of the contract: on-board duration and compliance with the contract. The level of gastrointestinal symptoms was lower in cases of shorter on-board duration and compliance with the contract, and in seafarers who have free, unlimited internet access on board. Lower level of cardiovascular symptoms was found in seafarers with free, unlimited internet access on board. Our findings suggest that in promoting satisfaction and health in seafaring, attention should be given to reducing on-board duration, compliance with the contract, and internet accessibility on board.

Self-Regulation Across Some Life Transitions

Some earlier philosophers and scientists (e.g., in the theory of evolution of Charles Darwin, in the socio-cultural theory of cognitive development of L. Vigotsky, in the symbolic interactionism of G. H. Mead, and in the developmental-cognitive theory of J. Piaget – have brought forth the idea that the development of an individual is the result of the interaction of a person and the environment. That idea was best elaborated by K. Lewin (1951) in his field theory. From the formula that behavior is the function of a person and the environment (B = f(PE)), it follows that the environment influences the person but also that the person influences the environment and changes it. The idea was elaborated later in more detail by U. Bronfenbrenner in formulating the theory of ecological systems and R. M. Lerner in his developmental contextualism. The biological changes in the organism, as well as the social interactions, exist as a part of the ecological system (Bronfenbrenner 1979), and bi-directional, reciprocal, and dynamic interactions of biological, psychological, and social processes are responsible for development (Lerner and Kauffman 1985). Therefore, development is viewed as a confluence of many mutually linked systems and subsystems, biological, social, cultural, and historical. Under the influence of all this theorizing, in the contemporary life-span psychology, changes occurred in the understanding of the principal determinants of development, i.e., the explanation of development in terms of biological changes in the organism that has ceased to dominate. Also, subject of developmental psychology, as the psychology of childhood and adolescence, has been extended after sixties of the twentieth century. Baltes (1983) emphasizes that the German psychology of development in the thirties of the twentieth century the necessity that development should be studied during the whole life-span was emphasized continuously, and takes into consideration the social and cultural factors of development in the process. He points to life events and transitions as important stimuli of development. Historically new phenomena in development, such as prolonged adolescence, the crisis of the forties, the crisis of “the empty nest” as well as the extension of life-span of modern people, they all urge the life-span psychologists to view structures, stages and the dynamics of development with reference to the historical period and with reference to cultural differences.