It’s a small world: - work environment factors enabling bullying and harassment on ships in the Danish merchant fleet

Sisse Grøn*, Elin Kragesand, Lisa Loloma Froholdt, Maj Britt Nielsen, Subash Thapa, Andrew Fenn, Jesper Bo Nielsen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Objective: To study enablers of bullying and harassment in the work environment on board ships.
Method: A qualitative sub-study embedded within a large population-based cross-sectional survey of the prevalence of bullying and harassment on ships in the Danish merchant fleet. The sub-study is based on in-depth semi-structured interviews and responses to open-ended questions in the survey questionnaire. In total, 32 participants were interviewed face-to-face or online. The data was imported into NVivo and coded thematically.
Results: Four themes emerged as enablers specific to the work environment on a ship: The first theme, Isolation, covers how the crew -as a group, is physically isolated from the world outside the vessel, but also that new crew members can be challenged when trying to become established inside the groups on board. The second theme, Hierarchy, encompasses how challenging the existing hierarchy based on rank is not tolerated and that the hierarchy is often maintained through bullying and harassment. The third theme, Crewing, includes how diversity related to e.g., culture, language, gender, or age/experience may create another form of hierarchy with the same negative consequences as the hierarchy based on formal rank. The fourth theme, Leadership, covers how leadership can enable both a good and an unacceptable work environment related to bullying and harassment. Conclusion: Bullying and harassment pose serious challenges to the work environment on ships. Four themes were identified as enablers of bullying and harassment. Some are a premise, but others may be improved through continued awareness and focused educational initiatives.
Translated title of the contributionDet er en lille verden: Arbejdsmiljøfaktorer af betydning for mobning og chikane i søfarten
Original languageEnglish
JournalScandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health
Number of pages15
ISSN0355-3140
Publication statusSubmitted - 2. Apr 2024

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