Fifty percent of oil and gas workers find their jobs exhausting and 39 percent feel emotionally frustrated, according to OC Tanner’s 2023 Global Culture Report.
The report suggests a number of reasons why oil and gas workers suffer both physically and emotionally, with poor work-life balance more likely to lead to burnout and potential burnout, OC said Tanner in a statement accompanying the report. which was sent to Rigzone.
When an employee doesn’t have the right balance, they’re 89 percent more likely to experience burnout, OC Tanner said in the release, adding that an organizational culture that doesn’t prioritize employee recognition will also increase the odds of poor mental health. “Employees who feel appreciated for their efforts and results are 80% less likely to experience burnout.”
If employees want to achieve a healthy work-life balance, the report recommends that leaders give their people a say in how they work, as well as what work they do, the release noted.
Organizations must also establish pragmatic practices and expectations that support balance, while ensuring employees have opportunities to leave work without feeling pressure, guilt or obligation to work during their time off, he added . Ensuring senior leaders communicate and demonstrate the importance of balance is also key, the statement noted.
“Employees who feel burned out from their day-to-day work are symptoms of a workplace that needs urgent attention,” said Robert Ordever, European managing director of OC Tanner, in a company statement.
“Leaders need to take an honest look at their culture to see if their people have a good work-life balance, are regularly recognized and feel part of a supportive, purpose-driven community . If these elements are missing, employee mental health will invariably suffer and the business will experience high levels of absenteeism and staff turnover,” he added.
“For employees to feel energized and satisfied about their work, they need to know that their efforts and results are appreciated by both leaders and peers. This means fostering a culture of integrated recognition in which acts of gratitude are given, witnessed and received every day,” said Ordever.
Rigzone has contacted UK industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), US industry body the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) for comment on OC Tanner’s findings. As of this writing, Rigzone has yet to receive a response from either organization.
OC Tanner’s 2023 Global Culture Report collected and analyzed the perspectives of more than 36,000 employees, leaders, HR professionals and business executives from 20 countries around the world, including 186 from the oil industry and the gas
In the latest study by OC Tanner, 56% of oil and gas workers reported that their line managers seem stressed. The report also revealed that a fifth of oil and gas workers (19%) feel like outsiders at work almost a third (29%) do not see their workplace as a community, despite the majority of oil and gas workers (72%) wanting to feel a strong sense of belonging at work.
OC Tanner Global Culture Report 2022 found that fear of failure was paralyzing decision-making among 62 percent of oil and gas workers. This report analyzed the perspectives of more than 38,000 employees and leaders in 21 countries around the world, including nearly 200 oil and gas workers.
The North Sea Chapter of the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) was recently published a white paper on mental health in the North Seawho noted that a recent study by the International SOS Foundation of onshore and offshore remote rotating shift workers found that 40 percent experienced suicidal thoughts some or all of the time while on duty.
The white paper also highlighted that UK-based Champion Health’s Workplace Health Report 2023 found that the number of employees who had thoughts of suicide or self-harm had risen to nine per cent since previous year and that 19 percent of workers have a current mental health diagnosis.
To contact the author, please send an email andreas.exarcheas@rigzone.com
