From rules to real well-being: why psychological safety is crucial at sea

On 1 July 2026, the regulations on the psychosocial working environment on board Danish merchant ships will enter into force.

This will give psychological health and well-being at sea a clearer place alongside the physical working environment.

Research has played an important role in the development of the regulations. The University of Southern Denmark’s BaHDIS project from 2023 contributed systematic and independent documentation of issues that many in the industry were already aware of, but which had previously been supported by limited evidence. The results mapped the extent of bullying, harassment and other psychosocial challenges at sea and created a shared basis for dialogue between authorities, shipping companies and other stakeholders.

Read more about the report Bullying and harassment in the Danish merchant fleet (BaHDIS).

Julie Boch Waldorff, research assistant at the Research Unit of Maritime Health and Technology at the University of Southern Denmark, agrees with senior researcher and colleague Lisa Loloma Froholdt that the new regulations are an important step, but not a solution in themselves.

– The rules set a new course, but it is in practice on board that they must take shape. The real impact depends on how the requirements are translated into everyday routines, she says.

A key prerequisite for this to succeed is psychological safety.

Psychological safety is a fundamental condition for a healthy working environment. It makes it possible to speak up, share concerns and learn from mistakes. Without it, conflicts risk being silenced and allowed to escalate. That is why it is important that it is actively incorporated into management, safety work, training and concrete initiatives, she explains.

This is particularly relevant in a maritime context, where work takes place under very specific conditions.

– Work at sea is often characterised by clear hierarchies, long periods away from home, different nationalities and a gender imbalance, which can make it more challenging to handle well-being and collaboration, she says.

Against this backdrop, the maritime industry has begun to recognise the importance of psychological safety.

– We are seeing that several shipping companies are already working actively with psychological safety and well-being on board. The new legislation creates a shared starting point and can help accelerate this development, where the psychosocial working environment becomes an integrated part of daily safety and management work at sea, she says.

Both Julie Boch Waldorff and Lisa Loloma Froholdt are co-authors of the 2025 report Beyond the Bow, which shows, among other things, how the shipping company Hafnia is working systematically to prevent bullying and harassment through procedures, policies and concrete measures, including a clear anti-bullying and harassment policy with clear consequences for violations.

– In Beyond the Bow, we see that the extent of bullying and harassment has been reduced, but that there is still a need for a targeted effort, she says.

Read more about the report Beyond the Bow.

At the same time, she points to a significant knowledge gap.

– There is still a lack of knowledge about how psychological safety is built in practice and what it looks like in maritime organisations. This knowledge could support the initiatives being launched, she says.

Psychological safety is put to the test in situations involving high pace, critical decisions and major responsibility. Research from the healthcare sector shows that leadership, time pressure and decision-making responsibility are particularly important for whether employees dare to speak their mind, ask questions or draw attention to problems (Grailey et al., 2021). These are challenges that also characterise everyday life on board many ships.

– It will therefore be interesting to follow developments in the coming years and see whether the new requirements lead to noticeable improvements in the psychosocial working environment at sea, she concludes.