Seafarers' perception of job demand: A cross-sectional study

The study offers an insight regarding seafarers' perceptions towards factors of psychological distress on board. In order to identify stressors on sea-workers, a cross-sectional survey was conducted, targeting a population group of workers of Italian shipping companies sailing across the world. The research aimed to investigate workers' demographic and professional characteristics and in what ways them influence perception of job fatigue, using an Italian version of the Karasek questionnaire. The 80.1% of the involved seafarers returned the questionnaire, yielding a mean level of perceived job demand of 32.8 points and a mean level of perceived decision latitude of 65.5 points; 37.2% of interviewers stated a scarce level of decision latitude. The results of the multivariate logistic regression models allowed to assess the seafarers' characteristics related to their perception of job strain. These results confirm the need of measures that prevent stressor factors in maritime workers.