Impact of the Offshore Oil and Gas Working Environment on the Mental Health and Safety Behaviour of Workers

Abstract

Abstract The rate of work-related accidents is rising in the global Oil and Gas industry, with a significant contribution of human error driven primarily by unsafe behaviour in a hazardous and isolated work environment involving a unique mix of psychological and social risks. From this standpoint, the working environment could be the hidden hand that can negatively affect workers' behaviour, leading to errors. To mitigate the risks of accidents and incidents caused by unsafe behaviour, the potential impact of the working environment's psychosocial hazards, represented by remoteness and isolation, on workers' mental health, was investigated, and the associated influences on safety behaviour were assessed. The study proposed a research model in which characteristics of the offshore working environment negatively affect workers' mental health and safety behaviour. Stress, Anxiety and Depression were chosen to represent mental health disorders due to their significant prevalence among work-related mental illnesses as per recent reports of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and multiple other studies. The methods used included a review of relevant literature and the quantitative research approach, where data was obtained from a survey involving a sample of (409) Egyptian workers in the oil and gas industry. The descriptive analysis was employed, and the results, according to the study sample, indicated a "high" level of psychosocial hazards in the work environment. The results also revealed a "moderate" level of worker safety behaviour, which can be explained by significantly lower safety engagement and communication levels despite their high adherence to safety rules. Hence, the researcher recommends that industry regulators and operators initiate mental health interventions, including raising worker awareness, alleviating isolation, controlling high workloads, improving living conditions, providing adequate means of communication, reasonable privacy, and recreational facilities as the adoption of The approach can lay the foundation for safety and optimal performance for the oil and gas workforce.