Well-being at work is a prerequisite for safe and sustainable maritime operations

Summary 

Shipping and port operations are safety-critical work environments where workers` competence, work ability, and well-being affect safety, quality, and operational continuity. Digitalization, automation, and the green transition are changing work tasks, competency requirements, and stress factors both on board ships and in ports. International research shows that seafaring and port work involve overlapping physical, psychosocial, organizational, and technological stressors. However, more research is needed on psychosocial risks, the impacts of digitalization, and the practical measures that support workers’ well-being. This article summarizes key findings from recent research and discusses why employee well-being is an important part of safe and sustainable maritime operations. 

Introduction 

The maritime sector is safety-critical, and the competence, work ability, and well-being of personnel are key prerequisites for safe and smooth operations. The industry is currently undergoing a period of significant transformation. Digitalization, automation, and the green transition are changing both shipboard work and port operations. 

In maritime research and development, the focus is often on the potential of technology, efficiency, environmental impacts, and safety. Less attention is paid to the question of how these changes affect employees, their health, their well-being at work, and their ability to cope with their jobs. This is an important issue, as maritime transport and port operations continue to rely on people’s expertise, decision-making, and work capacity. 

This article examines what the research literature reveals about well-being in maritime and port work, work-related stress factors, and the impacts of digitalization. In addition, the article highlights research gaps and practical development needs that industry stakeholders would do well to address. 

Seafaring and port work are unique work environments 

Seafaring and port work differ from many other work environments because they combine simultaneously physical, psychological, social, and organizational workload factors. In shipboard work, employees ​live and​ ​work in the same environment for​weeks or ​months at a time. The work​ involves long periods away from home, isolation, shift work, demanding work schedules, safety risks, and limited opportunities for recovery and leisure time. These factors affect both workers’ health and their ability to cope at work. Seafarers have been found to face physical and mental health risks, such as sleep disorders, fatigue, musculoskeletal problems, risk factors for cardiovascular disease, as well as stress, anxiety, and symptoms of depression (Jepsen et al., 2015; Carrera-Arce et al., 2023; Slade, 2022; Şenbursa, 2024). 

Fatigue is one of the key ​occupational health and safety​ challenges in the maritime industry. Shift work, night work, noise, vibration, ship movements, weather conditions, port calls, and crossing time zones can reduce both the quantity and quality of sleep. Fatigue has both immediate safety implications and long-term health effects, and it can impair alertness, decision-making, and job performance (Jepsen et al., 2015). 

Ports are also demanding and safety-critical work environments. In port work, employees are exposed to physical, chemical, ergonomic, organizational, and psychosocial stressors, among others. The work involves heavy machinery and vehicles, hazardous substances, noise, vibration, fluctuating weather conditions, time pressure, and constant logistical coordination. Physical health risks associated with port work include, for example, strain on the musculoskeletal system, eye injuries, accidents, and respiratory hazards such as dust, asbestos, diesel exhaust, and chemicals (Gonçalves et al., 2025; López-Guillén et al., 2025; Tajvar et al., 2026). 

In addition to physical risks, psychosocial stressors are also prominent in port work. The intensity of the work, shift work, constant time pressure, limited support from supervisors and coworkers, role conflicts, and shortcomings in organizational operations can increase work-related stress. If prolonged, stress and psychosocial strain can impair both mental and physical health and ​increase the risk of​ accidents (Alias et al., 2022; Tajvar et al., 2026).  

Overall, maritime and port work are work environments in which employees’ well-being is influenced simultaneously by working conditions, work organization, social relationships, opportunities for recovery, and a safety-critical operating environment. Therefore, the assessment of workplace well-being should not be limited to individual risk factors. A comprehensive understanding is needed of how physical, psychosocial, and organizational factors are interconnected. 

Well-being at work supports safety and operational continuity 

Shipping and ports are often viewed from the perspectives of technology, logistics, security of supply, and safety. Less attention is paid to the fact that the operations of shipping, ports, and logistics chains depend on people’s ability to work, their expertise, and their resilience. Globally, more than 80% of the international trade is transported by sea (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2024). In Finland, this accounts for approximately 95% of international trade (Finnish Transport and Communications Agency, 2025). The well-being of seafarers and port workers is therefore linked not only to individual work ability but also to supply chain continuity and security of supply.  

At the organizational level, workplace well-being affects the entire organization’s operations and performance. The research literature emphasizes employees’ physical and mental well-being as part of the overall picture of safety, productivity, and employee engagement. For example, fatigue increases the risk of human error and impairs work performance. Stress, depression, and other psychological stressors have also been found to be associated with reduced work ability and safety risks (Jepsen et al., 2015; Slade, 2022; Şenbursa, 2024).  

Although research data on seafarers’ well-being has increased, the study still identifies significant gaps. More information is needed, in particular, on what kinds of practical measures support workplace well-being and mental health in maritime work, as well as how digitalization affects workers’ health, stress levels, and coping at work (Carrera-Arce et al., 2023; Fleron & Stana, 2024; Lucas et al., 2022; Slade, 2022). 

Digitalization changes work and workload 

The digitalization of shipping and ports is considered a key means of increasing operational efficiency, safety, and sustainability.  Digital systems can improve the flow of information, reduce wait times, facilitate reporting, support forecasting, and advance environmental goals through, for example, route optimization, predictive maintenance, and emission reduction (Pavlinović et al., 2023). In the maritime sector, however, digitalization does not merely mean the adoption of technical systems; it also transforms the nature of work, skill requirements, decision-making, and the organization of work on ships and in ports (Fleron & Stana, 2024).  

However, from the perspective of employees, digitalization is a two-fold phenomenon. On the one hand, it can streamline work, reduce manual and repetitive tasks, and support decision-making. For example, forecasting maintenance needs, weather conditions, vessel performance, or cargo flows at ports can reduce uncertainty and improve work management (Pavlinović et al., 2023). On the other hand, new digital systems can increase cognitive load, pressure to keep up with new skills, and the need for constant adaptation (Fleron & Stana, 2024). 

Digitalization also affects employees’ professional identity and their sense of control over their work. Alongside traditional maritime expertise, skills such as data interpretation, systems proficiency, cybersecurity awareness, and digital problem-solving are gaining prominence. This can enhance job satisfaction and skill development, but it can also create uncertainty if employees do not receive sufficient support for the transition. Fleron & Stana (2024) use the concept of “technostress” in this context, which refers to the psychological and physical strain caused by the use or implementation of digital technologies. 

In ports, digitalization can change the pace of work, interactions, and safety practices. Digitalization can reduce delays and increase transparency in the supply chain, but at the same time, it can make work more system-dependent and increase the demands for continuous monitoring, responsiveness, and data interpretation (Pavlinović et al., 2023).  

In the research literature, digitalization in the maritime sector has largely been addressed from the perspective of technology, efficiency, and the development of individual operations. In contrast, employees’ experiences, workloads, well-being, and skill requirements have received less attention. It would therefore be important to study the digitalization of shipping and port work as a socio-technical change in which technology, work processes, skills, management, and well-being form a unified whole (Fleron & Stana, 2024). Key questions for further research include how employees experience digitalization, what types of stressors and resources are associated with it, and what practices support both efficient and humanely sustainable maritime work.  

Port work remains under-researched 

Research on well-being at work in the maritime sector has traditionally focused on seafaring, while port workers, port operators, terminal workers, and personnel at land-based logistic organizations have received less attention. Furthermore, research on port work has largely focused on physical safety and health risks, such as accidents, the handling of hazardous substances, ergonomic strain, and technical risks in the work environment. Psychosocial stressors, such as work-related stress, job insecurity, leadership, safety culture, and workplace cohesion, have received less attention (Alias et al., 2022; Gonçalves et al., 2025; Tajvar et al., 2026). 

However, safety in port work cannot be viewed solely through technical solutions. Gonçalves et al. (2025) emphasize that safety behavior and accident risk in port work are shaped not only by technical conditions but also by workers´ motivation, safety attitudes, training, communication, job satisfaction, and work-related stress. The study emphasizes the need for a more comprehensive research approach that simultaneously considers workplace well-being, safety culture, organizational practices, and the impact of technology.  

The study by Tajvar et al. (2026) also confirms the importance of psychosocial factors for the occupational health of port workers. The study found that psychological demands of work, psychosocial stress, and job insecurity were associated with musculoskeletal symptoms among port workers. Alias et al. (2022), on the other hand, note that current risk assessment methods in the port sector are poorly suited for assessing work-related stress, and that methods specifically targeting psychosocial risks have hardly been developed in the sector. Research on port work therefore requires more information, particularly on how physical, organizational, and psychosocial factors collectively affect workers’ well-being, work ability, and safety. 

Conclusions 

The transformation of shipping and port work makes employee well-being a topical research and development topic. Digitalization, automation, and the green transition are reshaping the nature of work, skill requirements, and stress factors both on ships and in ports. At the same time, safety, operational continuity, and security of supply in the sector continue to depend on people’s skills, work capacity, and ability to cope.  

Research literature shows that work on ships and in ports involves a combination of physical, psychosocial, organizational, and technological stress factors. Among seafarers, ​the most prominent issues​ include fatigue, ​sleep disturbances, isolation, loneliness​, long periods away from home, and psychological stress. Port work, on the other hand, combines physical risks, time pressure, shift work, safety-critical tasks, and psychosocial stressors. The effects of these factors can be seen not only in workplace well-being but also in work ability, safety, and staff retention.  

The well-being of seafarers has been studied more extensively than that of port workers, but more comprehensive research is needed in both settings. In particular, the assessment of psychosocial risks, support for mental health and recovery, the functioning of the work community, and the role of leadership require closer examination. Regarding port work, research has focused on physical risks, even though the psychological demands of the job, stress, job security, and the functioning of the work community also affect workers’ health and work ability.  

Digitalization presents a new research and development challenge in this context. Technology can reduce manual labor, improve the flow of information, and support safe decision-making, but at the same time, it can increase cognitive load, pressure to perform, and technostress. Therefore, it is useful to view digitalization not only as a technical change but also as a transformation of work, skills, leadership, and workplace well-being.  

In addition to identifying risks, the development of maritime transport and port operations requires information on what kinds of practices and measures support employee well-being, reduce workloads, and promote safe work. Improving workplace well-being is linked not only to an individual’s ability to work but also to safety, staff retention, the maintenance of skills, and the continuity and sustainable development of the industry.