Happiness is the foundation on which everything is built. Happy people stick around, happy people work well, they embrace challenges, they look to excel and they share with others.
While there are existing studies which assess the confidence of the shipping market and health of businesses as a whole, often these are affected by the big macro issues. They talk of financial markets, socio-economics and geo-political concerns.
It is obvious that such fundamentals would shape the shipping industry. But what of the small, real life, micro level effects – the everyday travails and challenges of seafarers? Put more simply, how can we safeguard the mental health and wellbeing of seafarers?
Remember, the real effect of how shipping is delivering for its people is felt in the cabins, wheelhouses and control rooms onboard. On container ships, bulkers and tankers the industry is being shaped from the bottom up by the feelings of seafarers – the professionals who really shape shipping.
Ultimately, stripping back from investors, the markets, clients, the media, and the rest – it is the people onboard who affect so much of how shipping delivers for the world.
The Seafarer Happiness Index gives the chance to look past anecdotes and rumour, and provide data where before there was just guesswork.
