Personality Traits & Happiness In The Superyacht Industry
Personality plays a significant role in how you manage stress & burnout but how do you know whether you’re sufferering from burnout or whether your mindset is playing a big part towards that.
There’s no doubt that the superyacht industry has a big problem with people suffering from stress, anxiety and burnout as the industry is well known for it’s demanding clientelle, intense work pressures & high expectations. Other lifestyle factors such as living and working together all the time alongside the sacrifices of being away from the familiarities of home make this quite a challenging place to work.
How our personality & mindset affects how we manage stress and burnout
The feeling of complete exhaustion, both physically and emotionally the feeling of being spent, with nothing left to give are the effects of burnout. This can leave you feeling resentful, introverted and dissolusioned by everything.
The obvious cause of burnout includes exessive workload, lack of support from senior crew, chronic stress all of which we know is life on superyachts. This industry is a totally different world to shore based life, and the differences between yachting and normal work-life really hightlights how our personality and mindset helps us get through day to day life. It’s not until you work in the industry that you realise there’s nothing you could have done to prepare yourself mentally or phsically for what it’s like. However, some personality traits are more helpful than others.
In shore based jobs and life surrounded by your friends & family the stress and pressures are totally different to those in the Superyacht industry. When working on superyachts you’re more likely to come across things that are way out of your comfort zone and difficult to deal with. How you manage this depends on your personality and mindset.
A negative mindset will contribute to feelings of burnout over time because they heighten stress and limit our ability to be resilient. The other thing about a negative mindset is it’s ability to influence our attitudes, and perceptions of ourselves, and focus on problems rather than solutions.
How to manage superyacht stress depends on personality & mindset
Stress is caused by many things but in this industry the causes are unavoidable. Stress related to living and working with such a varied group of personalities & in close quarters may provoke clashes, and conflicts. Despite this you still have to live, work and socialise with each other because there’s no escape.
Work stress stems mainly from the lack of control and uncertainty you have over your day, lack of predictability, high expectations to provide seven star service & working under pressure & deadlines is what characterises this industry. Heavy workloads and long hours, the unpredictable nature guests demands means having to adapt all the time to changing situations and this makes the job is very stressful.
Relationship stressors of any sort, whether you have problems at home, in long distance relationships, or even a couple on the same boat or on separate boats. Any of these situations are made more difficult when you are far away, often in a different time zones and a long and expensive flight back to home. This can put often put a strain on your emotions and may seem like a massive sacrifice.
Stress can be caused just by the daily grind, such as lack of sleep, personal alone time, doing different shifts to your cabin mate, having to socialise with crew when you really need to be on your own or with your partner. The little things you took for granted when you lived on shore can seem hard to achieve on superyachts.
Personal pressures & expectations, to perform can lead to stress, likewise being unhappy in your role progression, and professional development opportunities on board can lead to stress and be emotionally draining as well.
Other aspects of being on board which are obvious causes of stress include bullying, and intimidation, working for a someone who manages badly, not getting any support from senior crew can can and will lead to significant stress and anxiety. Sometimes you can’t leave because of location or timing but can be for other reasons too.
Everyone works under these circumstances but some people handle it well, some people & some people disguise it well, some can’t cope at all and some people react poorly to it. In doing so making things uncomfortable for others to live & work with.
Knowing which personality traits are helpful
Having an understanding of how different personality traits work is not only good for the individual but also good from hiring and training point of view. Their impact on our coping strategies and mindset, is well known and so are a good starting point for seeing how to address burnout and a negative mindset.
If you’re someone who experiences negative emotions such as anxiety, worry and irritability more intensely you might be prone to stress and burnout because of this heightened emotional reactivity.
If you’re an outgoing, sociable, energetic personality you’re likely to cope with stress through your social connections, and your interaction with people by drawing on the support of others to buffer burnout.
If you’re a natually curious and open minded person you might combat stress through creative outlets, but the mindset of these personalities also seem to embrace difficult situations with a learning and growing attitude.
People who ususally have a positive outlook on life believe in their own ability to handle situations confidently and how they cope is by reframing problems & setbacks with a solution orientated approach rather than dwelling on the cause and the problem.
Strategies to lesson the impact of burnout & stress
To address the problem of burnout, stress and a negative mindset, there are certain approaches which manage these more effectively.
You can start with managing your time well to allow time to reset, relax, energise and rejuvinate yourself.
Make a point of taking time out to do activities you enjoy, to practice what makes you feel good, make this a habit not just on a needs basis. Make it part of your daily routine
Try to avoid overloading yourself with too much responsibility and work. This is obviously easier said than done under the circumstances, but, there are ways to set yourself some boundaries.
In this line of work there are times when what’s expected is excessive and unrealistic but you do it anyway because that’s the nature of the job.
But a major cause of stress is the powerlessness do do anything about it alongside the phyiscal and emotional exhaustion which comes with the territory.
If you don’t have the skills, know how and mindset to improve how you’re managed or discuss a more reasonable expectation of of your capabilities you will become frustrated and overwhelmed.
Being able to talk about these aspects with your boss or someone more senior to you Is a skill that doesn’t come naturally. The ability to negotiate what is best for you or carve out more realistic expectations is a difficult task to undertake for anyone but, it is something you can learn.
Asserting your needs & asking for support is a way you can protect yourself & limit the level of burnout, anxiety and stress.
How to recognise and change characteristics that are holding you back
Other ways to manage stress caused by working in this environment is to understand and recognise what causes these feelings and reactions. It’s easy to read personal growth books, and to take time out and do things that will help you decompress. However, in reality and in practice, it’s more difficult to change certain negative characteristics that and this is why you should engage the support of someone who can help you.
The thing about personal development is that you do need to use the support of others, you do need to acknowlege your shortcomings, open up about your vulnerabilities, and habits that are not helpful for you.
How to adapt, cope, manage yourself & improve your mental health & wellbeing
It’s important to take time to learn new skills & develop a positive approach, this will make your life a lot easier personally & professionally. Most people who work on superyachts have built their skills on the job, school does’nt teach you how to manage overwhelm or things that take you out of your comfort zone. The ability to overcome this is often learned through experience but can also be learned by taking the time out to be trained in new ways of managing yourself at work and in life.
In order to nurture and cultivate a positive growth minded approach you will have to recognise your flaws and mindset and develop new strategies to turn them around. Finding new and better ways to adapt, cope and mangage external forces will in turn improve your mental health and well-being.
It’s often difficult to find someone who understands your mindset and the challenges of this work-life balance outside of work, and sometimes you don’t want to talk with work colleagues no matter how good friends you are.
I’ve lived a very similar lifestyle and have studied this topic in depth at masters level so although I’m not a counselor I am qualified to direct you in ways that will build a more resilient personality & develop stronger skills that will help you both personally and professionally and be more in control of your surroundings. Get in touch to find out more about this by clicking on this link.
I hope you have found this useful, if you know this might be of interest to anyone else please share with others.
