The IADC’s former North Sea Chapter’s chairman championed the offshore energy industry’s “first” mental health survey soon after his organisation rolled out questions to the workforce.
Ex-chairman of the North Sea Chapter of the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC) Darren Sutherland said: “The industry has a responsibility to ensure that places of work are safe environments in which to operate – not only physically but also mentally.”
However, he added: “It is unrealistic to expect that individual companies and industry bodies can provide a solution to every individual’s mental health concerns.
“This will require joined up thinking and a collaborative drive across industry to be successful.”
To help better understand the mental health challenges facing the industry, the IADC, working with Step Change in Safety and the Marine Safety Forum, recently launched a survey to gauge the offshore workforce’s mental and physical health.
The questions aim to gather insights into the wellbeing of employees across the energy industry “to provide benchmark data on how the offshore workforce perceive how mental health and overall wellbeing is being handled in the offshore energy sector,” Sutherland said.
“There are many surveys and data points measuring perceptions of mental health out there but this survey is the first that is specifically focussed on the offshore energy space in the North Sea.”
Last year a report published by the IADC found that 40% of onshore and offshore remote rotational shift workers experienced suicidal thoughts some or all of the time while on duty.
After its initial report, the IADC launched the call to arms in the form of a Mental Health Charter as it looked for more industry support for a 10-point plan to improve the mental well-being of workers in the North Sea.
“This should then clearly frame the challenges that we face and inform us on where strengths and weaknesses in the implementation of mental health and wellbeing practice lies,” Sutherland said.
The questionnaire will close on Monday 26th August, with the results informing the development of new programmes, resources and initiatives aimed at improving the wellbeing of the energy industry workforce.
“The results will be used to develop what I hope will be the first of many annual reports into the mental health and wellbeing of our workforce,” Sutherland added.
“With this first report we will be able to establish a baseline from which to measure tangible improvements.
“Once we have a clear understanding of where we stand, we also intend to use the data to help guide industry in the development of appropriate resources, provide additional support and influence key stakeholders on our goal of driving a legacy of change in how mental health is viewed and managed across the workforce.”
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