Building psychosocial and physical resilience using self-management skills for offshore workers

This Research Project is part of the EPSRC CDT in Offshore Wind Energy Sustainability and Resilience’s the wellbeing triad: improving the physical, psychosocial, and cognitive health of workers in the offshore windfarm sector cluster.

The CDT is a partnership between Hull, Durham, Loughborough and Sheffield universities, along with over 40 industry partners. We will welcome over 65 funded doctoral researchers between 2024 and 2028. Join us to tackle some of the biggest research challenges, in a supportive environment where you can grow your own career while you help grow the offshore wind industry.

The offshore wind industry has expanded rapidly and as a large influx of offshore workers is expected to meet the growth of the industry, companies now have an important task of maintaining health and safety at work in order to sustain well-being and retain the workforce until statutory pension. However, work in the offshore wind industry involves both cognitive and manual work.

Evidence suggests that high work demands that exceed the physical and cognitive capacity of workers and their physical work demands may reflect as poor work ability and compromised health and safety at the workplace. Particularly work stress, fatigue, difficulties detaching from work, sleeping problems, musculoskeletal have been documented.

Using organisational support theory and self-management theory, this project will examine how health, wellbeing and productivity can be improved and sustained for those at risk of poor health and wellbeing.

The student will work directly with offshore workers, as well as stakeholders such as human resources personnel, safety managers and occupational health staff, in order to design, test and pilot intervention content, based around necessary adaptations to fit the offshore work environment and context.

Training & Skills

Youwill receive the following training as part of the PhD project: Intervention design, physiological measurement and health tool use and analyses training, questionnaire and interview design and analyses.

The PhD could lead to careers in academia as well as in public or private sectors (in human resources or health and wellbeing teams), or in consultancy firms specialising in work, health and wellbeing.

You will benefit from a taught programme, giving you a broad understanding of the breadth and depth of current and emerging offshore wind sector needs. This begins with an intensive six-month programme for the new student intake, drawing on the expertise and facilities of all four academic partners. It is supplemented by Continuing Professional Development (CPD), which is embedded throughout your 4-year research scholarship.

Entry Requirements

If you have received a First-class Honours degree, or a 2:1 Honours degree and a Masters, or a Distinction at Masters level with any undergraduate degree (or the international equivalents) in psychology, we would like to hear from you.

If your first language is not English, or you require a Student Visa to study, you will be required to provide evidence of your English language proficiency level that meets the requirements of the Aura CDT’s academic partners. This course requires academic IELTS 7.0 overall, with no less than 6.0 in each skill. Please contact [email protected] for further guidance or questions.

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