The Seafarers Happiness Index to Enhance Seafarer Welfare with New Website

The Mission to Seafarers (MtS), has today (7 November 2018) announced the launch of a website, www.happyatsea.org, for its Seafarers Happiness Index (SHI) to complement and enhance the work of the SHI since MtS took over the renowned survey in 2017.

The website will act as a live barometer, providing insight into satisfaction levels across a range of issues. It will feature a host of new tools for seafarers, as well as the renowned benchmarking survey. Seafarers visiting the website will expect to find tips and advice on: physical and mental health; training; financial support; shoreleave; food and drink; and the workload.

Speaking of the new website at CrewConnect Global in Manila, Mr Ben Bailey, Director of Advocacy and Regional Engagement for MtS spoke of the importance of providing seafarers with an interactive tool where their voices can be heard.

“Ever since The Mission to Seafarers took over the running of the Seafarer Happiness Index last year, we have been extremely keen to use it as a tool to engage further with seafarers. We hope that by creating an interactive platform for seafarers to take the survey and access advice on a range of issues, we will be able to enhance seafarer welfare worldwide. This will also provide the maritime industry with a framework from which it can measure success and failure, in the form of seafarer happiness, and offers a blueprint for self-reflection and improvement,” Mr Bailey told delegates of a Mental Health and Wellness ROI: Pay now or pay more later? What’s your strategy? panel discussion.

Mr Steven Jones, founder of the SHI and actively involved in the creation of the new website, welcomed the opportunity to enhance the impact the SHI has. “The Seafarers Happiness Index helps ensure the voice of those working at sea is heard when it comes to what is good and bad about life at sea. Now www.happyatsea.org will be the place for data and reports on seafaring, and home to ideas, views, news and resources on mental health, wellbeing and career satisfaction. We hope it can make life better for seafarers and help bring a little happiness back to the profession,” Mr Jones said.

The new website will go live later this month.