Does Having an Offshore Occupation Have a Detrimental Impact on the Dyanamic of the Family

RESEARCH QUESTION

The research question under review is;

“How does having an offshore occupation impact the family dynamic?”

The aim of the study is to investigate whether or not having an offshore occupation has a detrimental impact on the dynamic of the family, particularly in relation to the spouse and their children.

BACKGROUND

There appears to be a gap in the literature concerning the adaptions to families whilst the male role figure is away for weeks at a time, despite major’s changes that have occurred across the industry. However, Parkes et al (2005) looked at the perceptions, attitudes and concerns of spouses of offshore workers from a psychological perspective. The results presented that spouses have a number of concerns relating to the offshore lifestyle and the impact it has on their children. Yet, the main concern was not related to their partner’s absence but the period for when they return home.

A further study conducted by Taylor and Simmonds (2009), looked at ‘Family Stress and Coping in the Fly-in Fly out (FIFO) Workforce.’ Their results found that the FIFO lifestyle incurred higher demands to survive within the lifestyle, than other ‘normal’ families. That high family functioning was strongly associated with healthy family cohesion and flexibility. Finally, through active communication families are enabled to respond effectively to change and stress.

METHOD

The current study will be conducted through the focus group method. It was deemed appropriate for the research investigation because, focus groups are a distinctive and convenient¬ method for gathering qualitative data. They explicitly use group interaction as a part of the method. It encourages participants to be active and exchange their knowledge and ...

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PARKES, K.R., CARNELL, S.C. and FARMER, E.L., 2005. ‘LIVING TWO LIVES’ Perceptions, attitudes and experiences of spouses of UK offshore workers. Community, Work and Family, 8(4), pp. 413-437.

TAYLOR, J. and SIMMONDS, J., 2009. Family stress and coping in the fly-in fly-out workforce. The Australian Community Psychologist, 21(2), pp. 23-36.

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