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7 June 2018
Once again, 25 June will mark the annual Day of the Seafarer. The Day of the Seafarer was established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to recognize the unique contribution made by seafarers from all over the world to international seaborne trade, the world economy and society as a whole.
With recent years seeing strong momentum to address seafarer's wellbeing, particularly mental health, this year’s 2018 Day of the Seafarer theme is "seafarers' wellbeing".
Wellbeing & Resilience
Focusing on wellbeing and building resilience is important in addressing both physical and mental health.
The World Health Organisation defines wellbeing as “the state in which an individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with normal stresses of life, can work productively, and is able to make a contribution to his or her own community”.
Resilience, which is directly related to wellbeing, is about having the ability to cope and adapt in the face of changes or disturbances. Having a sense of positive wellbeing and resilience enables an employee to approach people and situations with confidence and safely.
Personal Resilience Awareness Program
Members of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) have joined forces to develop the IMCA Resilience Awareness Program addressing those working in the marine contracting industry, highlighting that the capability of an organisation to adjust to current industry challenges is largely dictated by the resilience of its people.
The program, comprising of six videos, has been prepared to help promote discussion and share thoughts enabling employees to become more resilient and help keep employees safe. It explains the main concepts of resilience and proposes useful tips on how to develop and improve this capability for use at work and at home.
The videos explore what resilience is and ways to develop it. It also advises on how to make safer decisions, how to prevent negative impact of change on safety and how taking care of ourselves will help us be safer.
To view the videos, supervisors and employees can follow the links below:
- IMCA - Resilience Awareness – Module 1
- Keeping things in Perspective - Module 2
- Change is a part of life – Module 3
- Taking Care of yourself – Module 4
- Decisive Action – Module 5
- How resilient are you? – Module 6
Day of the Seafarer Social Media
This year the Day of the Seafarer campaign will have two hashtags on social media, as follows: #SupportSeafarersWellbeing
This hashtag will be used by the industry, to show how they provide a decent working environment for seafarers and how they address mental health issues for their seagoing employees. #GoodDayatSea
Use this hashtag to wish seafarers a good day at sea*.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available to those who may feel the need to seek counselling / professional guidance when well-being concerns arise. To access this confidential service or to obtain further EAP information call 1800 30 30 90 or visit the following webpage www.bsspsych.com.au.
Further Information
Download and view the Atlas Professionals Health & Wellbeing Factsheet
Download and view Employee Assistance Program (EAP) information and other resources by visiting www.bsspsych.com.au.
*Please note any Atlas Professional photographs of employees being submitted for social media posts must adhere to company policies and must show employees wearing the correct personal protective equipment for the situation they are in, and the appropriate authorisations must be sought from management/client personnel at your work site. All photographs must be free of copyright restrictions and the photographer as well as the person(s) within the photograph. Employees may need to complete the Atlas Professionals “Media Release Form”, authorising Atlas Professionals to publish the photographs online.
