Lecture: Birgit Pauksztat, "Homage to Good Colleagues"

Please join us on 2 November for a lecture from Research Professor Birgit Pauksztat, "Homage to Good Colleagues". 

Details

2 November, 11:30-13:00
Gadourek Hall (B0126), University of Groningen

Abstract

An accumulating body of evidence indicates that there is a close association between the social work environment (i.e., employees’ perceptions of their social relations and interactions with colleagues) and a range of desirable outcomes, from employee engagement, safety behaviour, and performance to physical and mental health. However, less is known about the factors that facilitate – or hinder – the development of a good social work environment.

Drawing on research on commercial passenger, cargo and fishing vessels, this presentation starts by illustrating why and how a good social work environment is vital in this context, both in everyday work and in extraordinary circumstances, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic, search-and-rescue (SAR) operations and when working in high-risk and warlike operations areas such as the Gulf region and the Strait of Hormuz. Next, we take a closer look at seafarers and fishers’ perspectives on the characteristics of a good social work environment and the factors shaping it. Initial findings from the ongoing “SocialShip” research project show the importance of “good colleagues” and indicate some of the norms and values characterizing good colleagues. However, while seafarers and fishers highlight that “the people make the ship”, they also point to the importance of contextual characteristics of shipping companies and the organization of work and life on board. Getting a better understanding of the contextual characteristics that shape the social work environment will be a first step towards developing tools for effectively improving working lives at sea.

Bio

Birgit Pauksztat is a Research Professor at the Nordland Research Institute and a Professor at the Nord University Business School in Bodø, Norway. She holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands (2010). Her interests are in social network analysis, organizational behaviour and maritime sociology. She is the author of numerous articles in international journals and a member of the editorial review boards of Marine Policy, Journal of Managerial Psychology and Journal of Organizational Behavior. She is the Vice Chair of the EU COST Action CA22122 Rethinking the Blue Economy: Socio-ecological impacts and opportunities (RethinkBlue), and Principal Investigator of the research project Improving social work environments on board: Antecedents and consequences of psychological safety and social support on Norwegian vessels (SocialShip), funded by the Research Council of Norway (2025-2028).