Perceived hazardous physical work environments and job-related affective well-being of navy officers aboard the Republic of Korea Navy ships and submarines in South Korea

Abstract

IntroductionNavy ships and submarines are important military measures that protect the Republic of Korea. They also comprise naval officers’ workplace. However, few studies have examined naval officers’ working environment and their job-related well-being. This study aimed to explore exposure to hazardous work environments among navy officers aboard ships and submarines and their association with job-related affective well-being.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional descriptive study. The sample comprised 146 officers from 4 navy ships and 98 officers from 5 submarines. Items of exposure to the eight types of hazardous work environments and the Job-related Affective Well-being Scale (JAWS) were included in the self-report survey questionnaires.ResultsThe most common hazards reported by officers aboard navy ships were vibration (63.7%) and air pollution (56.2%). For submarine officers, these hazards were lack of personal space (72.4%) and air pollution (67.3%). The average JAWS score for ship officers and submarine officers was 69.81 (SD=10.89) and 70.50 (SD=10.83), respectively. For ship officers, exposure to air pollution, noise, vibration, thermal discomfort during summer or winter and lack of personal space were significantly correlated with lower JAWS scores. For submarine officers, exposure to fire, burning or electrical shock, air pollution, noise, thermal discomfort during summer or winter and lack of personal space were significantly correlated with lower JAWS scores.ConclusionsThis study revealed that some naval officers aboard ships or submarines are exposed to hazardous work environments. Moreover, certain types of hazardous work environments were associated with naval officers’ job-related affective well-being.

Mental health and psychological wellbeing of maritime personnel: a systematic review

“…self-harm, suicidal ideation) [ 24 ], depression [ 25 , 26 ], stress [ 27 ], sleepiness [ 7 ], distress [ 28 ], work-related burnout [ 29 ] and mental fatigue [ 30 ] than older staff, whilst psychological capital (defined as a set of resources including self-efficacy, optimism, hope and resilience) appeared to increase significantly with age [ 31 ]. However, Oldenburg et al [ 32 ] found that age was not significantly associated with emotional exhaustion and Jo and Koh [ 33 ] found no association between age and wellbeing. A study of Maritime Academy students found that depression and anxiety were significantly higher in students over the age of 22 [ 34 ].…”

“…Very few studies considered gender as a predictor of wellbeing because most study populations were predominantly male. Gender was not found to be related to sleepiness [ 32 ] or wellbeing [ 33 ] although one study of active-duty ship-assigned military personnel found being female was associated with greater odds of screening positive for risk of depression [ 25 ].…”

“…Additionally, marital dissatisfaction appeared to be associated with more stress and anxiety [ 39 , 40 ]. However, one study found wellbeing was not significantly associated with marital status [ 33 ]. Seafarers with children reported significantly less emotional exhaustion and less sleepiness than those without [ 32 ].…”

“…Longer seafaring experience was significantly associated with lower levels of stress [ 27 ] and fatigue [ 42 ]. However, longer time in the Navy was associated with higher stress in surface fleet, although not submariners [ 46 ] while two studies found no association between experience and emotional exhaustion [ 32 ] or wellbeing [ 33 ].…”

“…Whilst many studies found a significant relationship between rank or role and mental health [ 22 – 25 , 27 , 28 , 32 , 34 , 35 , 46 , 48 – 54 ], there was no consistent pattern identifiable to this due to the variety of different roles and outcomes studies. A smaller number of studies found rank/role to be not associated with stress [ 38 ] or wellbeing [ 33 ].…”