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1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Backgroundtothestudy
Inrecentyearsithasbecomeincreasinglydifficultfor
Swedish Seafarers to find their first job at sea,
although senior officers still enjoy a relatively
secured future once employed (Arbetsförmedlingen
2015:12).Atthesametime,thereseemstobeahigh
turnover of
onboard staff in the Swedish shipping
industry. A common estimate has been that the
averagestimeaSwedishship’sofficerremainsinthe
occupation is only eight years (SMA 2010:17,
Arbetsförmedlingen2010:10,2014:15).Accordingtoa
surveymadein2010,over20%ofseafarersaged30
oryounger,andclose
to18%ofthosebetween31‐42
yearsofage,declaredtheywerelikelytoleavetheir
occupation within a few years (Hult 2012a). One
possible reason for high turnover among seafarers
may be traced to their long periods of time at sea,
separatedfromhome,familyandfriends.
The assumption
of a connection between high
staff turnover and long periods away from home,
calls for an attempt to shed some light over the
possible correlation between seafarer’s family
situation and their occupational commitment.
Intuitively, these recurring separations from home
maybeemotionallyharderforseafarerswhohavea
spouseor
partner,comparedtothosewhoaresingle;
The Impact of Family and Job Content on Swedish
Seafarers’ Occupational Commitment – A Gendered
Issue?
C.Hult&C.Österman
KalmarMaritimeAcademy,LinnaeusUniversity,Sweden
ABSTRACT:Ongoingresearchhasindicatedimportant effectsonseafarers’occupationalcommitmentdueto
genderandfamilysituation.Inthisstudy,thesefindingshavebeenelaboratedfurtherbycontrollingforthe
effect of perceived work content. Statistical analyses were employed, using a survey material of Swedish
seafarers collected from a national register in 2010. The results showed that the effect on occupational
commitmentofhavingchildrenathomeisstronglypositiveandstatisticallysignificantforwomen.However,
the significance was dependent on the level of satisfaction with the job content. It was suggested that the
seafaringoccupation
could beviewedas a cooping strategy, althoughonly appropriate if the job content is
agreeable.Anotherimportantfamilyeffectwas,asexpected,thepositiveeffectofhavingarelativeworking,or
havingworked,atsea.Thiseffectwas,however,onlysignificantformaleseafarersintheagegroupbelow
the
early40’s.Itwasconcludedthatthiseffectismainlyemotionallydrivenandnotparticularlyinfluencedbythe
actualjobcontent.Theresultsfurthershowedthatworkinginthecateringdepartmentcomeswith a strong
negativeeffectoncommitmenttotheseafaringoccupationforwomen.Thiseffect,however,lostits
significance
aftercontrolforjobcontent.Itwasconcludedthattheeffectofsatisfactionwithjobcontentonoccupational
commitmentisgenerallyimportant,withtheexceptionofwomen,withoutchildren,workinginthecatering
department.
http://www.transnav.eu
the International Journal
on Marine Navigation
and Safety of Sea Transportation
Volume 10
Number 1
March 2016
DOI:10.12716/1001.10.01.02
28
andparticularlydifficultiftheyhaveyoungchildren
at home. There may, however, be family
circumstanceswhichhavethepotentialtostrengthen
commitment to the seafaring occupation. One such
circumstancewouldbetohaveacloserelativewho
works, or has worked, at sea and as such acts as a
sourceofinspiration.However,oneimportantfactor
for the decision whether to stay or leave an
occupation would also be the perception of the job
content at work. Thus, how the job content is
experiencedandvaluedmayinteractwiththeeffects
from family factors on seafarer’s occupational
commitment.
1.2
Theobjectivesofthestudy
Thepurposeofthestudypresentedinthispaperisto
investigate Swedish seafarer’s occupational
commitment.Specifically,theobjectivesofthestudy
are to investigate (i) whether family situation have
any net‐effects on occupational commitment for
Swedishseafarers,(ii)whetherthepatternsofeffects
are
similar for both men and women, (iii) whether
the effects are similar in deck, engine and catering
departments, and (iv) whether the findings can be
explainedbyhowthejobcontentisperceived.
2 THEORETICALBASISFORTHESTUDY
2.1 Earlierresearchonattitudestowork
Quantitativeresearchonseafarers’
attitudestowork
is not abounded. There are, however, a number of
studiesfromdifferentpartsoftheworld(e.g.Guoet
al.2005,Guoetal.2010,Panetal.2011,Sencilaetal.
2010,Turker &Er2007).Aparticularinterestcanbe
seenwithinthecruisesector,probably
duetothelink
between employee job satisfaction and customer
satisfactionin service occupations (e.g. Larsen etal.
2012, Testa 2001, Testa & Mueller 2009, Testa et al.
2003). Moreover, there are five attitude studies on
Swedishseafarerswithquantitativeapproaches.Two
olderstudiesthatfocusonjobsatisfactionon
board
merchant ships (Olofsson 1995, Werthén 1976), and
threemorerecentstudiesthatfocusoncommitment
toworkandoccupation(Hult2012b,Hult&Snöberg
2013,Hult&Österman2015).
2.2 Occupationalcommitment
Succinctly, commitment to an occupation has to do
with perceptions of the generalities for that
occupation.Inthat
respect,the prospect ofadecent
income is, of course, one important factor. More
interestingly, there is a qualitative and emotional
driverforthistypeofcommitment,whichhasdrawn
mostattentioninearlierresearch(cfLeeetal.2000).
Itis,forexample,primarilywithinanoccupationthat
people
can develop a sense of social status and
identity. For rather obvious reasons, research has
shown that strong occupational commitment
restrains decisions to leave a job (Hult 2012b,
Nogueras2006).
Earlier research show that the duration of
education,age,andyearsinvestedintheoccupation
have positive effects on occupational commitment
(Nogueras 2006). Returning to the high turnover
among Swedish seafarers, it has been shown that
timespentonthesameshiphasanegativeeffectfor
youngerseafarers(Hult&Snöberg2013).Ithasbeen
reported that perceptions of social quality and
leadershipqualityintheworkorganizationinfluence
occupational
commitment (van der Heijden et al.
2009). A positive correlation between occupational
commitment and perceived autonomy at work has
alsobeenreported(Giffords2009).
2.3 Occupationalcommitmentandfamilysituation
Thefirstassumptioninthisstudyisthatsomesocial
circumstancesmayhavenegativeeffectsonseafarers’
occupationalcommitment.Itis
plausiblethathaving
toendurelongperiodsofseparationfromhomeand
familyisemotionallyharderforthoseseafarerswho
haveaspouseorpartner,comparedtothosewhoare
single. The existence of problems related to family
separation among seafarers also finds support in
earlierresearch(e.g.Thomaset
al.,2003).Moreover,
itislikely thattheseparationwouldbeparticularly
difficultifthereareyoungchildrenathome.
On the whole, this rather intuitive assumption
concerning effects on occupational commitment
strikesclosetoBeckerʹs(1960)sidebettheorywhich
suggests that continuance in a job does not solely
dependonthedegreeofaffiliationwithit.Rather,it
is a result of a more holistic calculation including
impactsonotheraspectsoflife.Inthiscase,thismay
assume a possible situation of conflicting
commitments;onecommitmentdirectedtowardsthe
family and another towards the occupation.
However, some
of these assumptions have been
challenged by recent research. Results suggest that
the relationship between different commitments in
lifemaybeamatteroffarmorecomplexity,atleast
whenitcomestoseafarers(Hult&Österman2015).
The next assumption is firmly anchored in the
tradition of socialisation and social
capital theory.
Here,weassumethattheexistenceofarelativewho
is, or has been, working at sea will have a positive
effect on commitment to the seafaring occupation.
Thesocialrelationshiptotheterm‘capital’ hasbeen
neatlyexplainedbyPortes(1998:7)asfollows:
Whereaseconomiccapitalis
inpeople’sbankaccounts
and human capital is inside their heads, social capital
inheres in the structure of their relationships. To possess
socialcapital,aperson mustberelatedtoothers,anditis
thoseothers,nothimself,whoare theactualsourceofhis
orheradvantage.
Studiesonsocial
capital maydealwiththeeffects
ofsocialcontacts,socialtiesandsocialnetworks,on
occupationalchoices;thelikelihoodofsuccessonthe
labour market and on satisfaction with job related
aspects (Bentolila et al. 2010, Flap & Völker 2001,
Mouw 2003, Requena 2003, Seibert et al. 2001).
Another strand
of research, in the realm of social
capital, focuses on family effects on people’s career
outcome (e.g. Egerton 1997). This effect has
metaphorically been labelled career inheritance
29
(Goodale & Hall 1976, Inkson 2004). It has been
suggested that this effect can arrive from parenting
practise during childhood, from reinforcement of
work values and vocational interests during
adolescence,andfrommoretangiblesupportlateron
(Aldrich & Kim 2007). According to Gottfredson
(2002:139):
…peopletendtogleaninformation
abouttheiroptions
frompeopleincloseproximityandwhothuspopulatetheir
birth niche, which constitutes a recipe for minor
adjustmentratherthanmajorchange.Itshouldcomeasno
surprise,then,that people’s adultnichestendtoresemble
theirbirthniches,thatchildrenre‐createthesociety…
Attempts
to incorporate inheritance in a more
genetic sense have also been made (Aldrich & Kim
2007, Gottfredson 2002). Here, it is argued that
socialisation theory have difficulties explaining
individualdifferencesincareerchoices,especiallyfor
peopleoriginallyfromsimilarsocialniches.Instead,
a combination of socialisation and individually
driven search for
a person−environment fit in the
social world has been suggested. From the
adolescent’s perspective, the career formation may
here be described as a struggle of circumscription
andcompromisesofpreferencesonasociallychaired
map of gender and prestige differences in
occupations(Gottfredson2002).
The debate of nurture vs
. nature lingers on,
however,astrayfromthetopicofthisstudy.Insum,
the bulk of research gives us reason to believe that
job relevant social capital is positive for individual
perceptions and satisfaction within a specific
occupation. When it comes to the maritime sector,
however,ithasbeenpointed
outthatthechancesfor
post‐adolescentbuildingofsustainablesocialcapital
isincreasinglychallengedbecauseoftheworldwide
dispersion of shipping companies and frequent
changesof crews(Grøn & Svendsen2013, Sampson
2013). Thus, the parental or family related social
capitalmaybeofparticularimportanceforseafarers’
perceptionsoftheoccupation.Infact,theassumption
that those seafarers who have close relatives
working, or having worked, at sea are likely to
expressgreatercommitmenttotheiroccupationthan
others finds some support from an earlier study
(Hult 2012b). Thus, family situation entails social
capitalthatmatterforseafarers.
However,thevalue
of this capital seems to be higher for men than for
women(Hult&Österman2015).
The third assumption for this study is that the
perceived job content may alter the initial family
related effects on occupational commitment. The
assumptionrelatestoaresearchtraditionwithfocus
on the importance of organizational and workplace
characteristics for the development of individual
attitudesatwork.Thisapproachhasbeenappliedin
amultitudeofstudiesonworkrelatedattitudes(e.g.
HackmanandLawler1971,Mottaz,1988,Hult2005,
2012b).
2.4 Thestudy’srationale
If career choice largely is a compromise
based on
information from people in close proximity, and
preferences towards positions on a socially chaired
mapofgenderandprestigeinoccupations,wemay
expect different patterns of commitment due to
gender. The seafaring occupation has historically
beenatraditionallymaleoccupation.Acloserelative
atsea, oftena
man, may therefore work better as a
rolemodel.Andassuch,maybere‐createdwithless
effort by young men than by women. Thus, we
expectthatthepositiveeffectfromcloserelativesat
seaonoccupationalcommitmentwillbestrongerfor
maleseafarersthanforfemale.Likewise,because
the
cateringdepartmenttraditionallyhasbeenrelatively
femaledominated,weexpectalowerpositive effect
here,thanindeckandenginedepartments.
As pointed out earlier, the relationship between
different commitments in life is a complex one.
Nevertheless, we expect, as an initial effect, that
occupationalcommitmentwillbelower
forseafarers
whohaveaspouseorpartner,andforthosehaving
young children at home. Finally, we expect that
individual evaluation and perception of the work
contentwillaltertheseeffects.
3 METHOD
3.1 Thesample
This study is based on a sample taken from the
Swedish Register of Seafarers
using unrestricted
randomselectionofdeckandengineeringpersonnel
forthemen,andofcateringpersonnelforbothmen
and women. Because women still are strongly
underrepresented among deck and engineering
personnel, all women from these departments were
drawn into the framework. The only effect of this
decision would be
that it gives more, of very few,
women in these departments the opportunity to
participate.
Thedatawerecollectedviapostalsurveysduring
the period of March 8 to September 8 in 2010. The
questionnaireas a whole was based on pre‐existing
questionnaires from the International Social Survey
Programme,Work
OrientationsIIIstudy(ISSP2005).
The final material consists of 1309 respondents
with an answering rate of 54%, which must be
considered adequate given the general trend of
shrinking answering rates. More important, the
control of different aspects, such as gender, age,
onboardposition,tradearea,andtypeofship,
found
the material representative for Swedish seafarers.
Although sufficient demographic and work‐related
representativity,itisalwaysdifficulttoestimatethe
likeliness of non‐response effects on the attitudinal
representativity. An educated guess would be that
peoplewhotakegreatinterestintheirworkmaybe
more likely than others to
complete this type of
questionnaire and therefore be over‐represented in
thesample.Ifso,theattitudinalpatternsfoundinthe
analysis would still be correct, but the levels of
commitment would be slightly overestimated (e.g.
Hult&Svallfors2002).
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3.2 Processingofdataandanalysis
The Statistical Package Social Science (SPSS) were
used throughout the analysis. The dependent
variable of occupational commitment was
constructedas an indexusing Principal Component
Analysis (PCA) and internal reliability control. In
order to control for the influence of different and
competing variables, multiple
regression analysis
(OLS regression), allowing adjusted effects, were
usedinseveralstepsoftheanalysis.
The dependent variable of occupational
commitment was developed with theoretical
connectionstothePorterscale(Porteretal.1974)and
the three‐component measurement (Meyer & Allen
1991) and carefully adapted to the specifics of
the
seafaring