Superyacht Crew: Feeling Burnt out? How to stay happy and focused in your career
Your career can send you off on all sorts of tangents or keep you in a rigid and structured cage, either way it is easy to drift, being carried along without a clear plan as to where you are heading. Sometimes it can take a while to get to that point when you just know you are ready for something new, some people get that lightbulb moment, that flash of Inspiration, but for most of us it does not always happen like that, and it is more a slow realisation that you are not actually that happy or fulfilled any more.
Perhaps you have not drifted at all, in fact your career has followed a carefully prescribed plan and the realisation comes when you have finally achieved the goal that you have spent years striving towards. The Captain, Chief Officer, Head of Department position, with rotation, that you thought was the ultimate accolade. More often, it comes when you are sat in the departure lounge waiting for your flight back to work and you experience that creeping realisation, that home, a simple life and frankly everything that you thought you didn’t want, is looking pretty attractive and to be honest, you could happily contemplate never flying anywhere ever again.
I speak to professional crew on a daily basis, who are admitting very reluctantly, that they are burnt out, disillusioned and are struggling to see a future in the industry. In general they hold senior positions onboard, jobs that they have worked very hard to achieve and on paper look like they have the “dream ticket” great income, rotation, several properties bought and rented out, great toys, clothes, cars, watches and Instagram accounts that support the “living the dream” illusion.
It’s not surprising that for many their career and their enthusiasm has a finite life, after a while the pressures of the industry and the relentless toll of the seasons, can leave you feeling like you are experiencing Groundhog Day, the very things that used to be so exciting and uplifting leave you flat and feeling trapped. It might look like you’re working in paradise, but the reality is the yacht, and your surroundings leave you feeling trapped and confined.
Over the last two years the impact of COVID on crew and the long term effects on mental health, cannot be overstated and as surveys and reports continue to prove, the fall out and impact on crew will continue to be felt. Much of the issue also sits with the industry Itself, not recognising that a few fundamental changes to the way it values and supports crew, would also help to minimise the tendency for short term careers, would vastly improve the work life balance and longevity of those that operate the owner’s prize asset.
In the yachting industry, wanting something more, or more to the point recognising that something vital is missing, does not always mean leaving the industry, in fact I think it’s the most common mistake that crew make. It is not all doom and gloom, sometimes, investing time in yourself, making a few adjustments, setting some new goals and finding new inspiration in your own professional development, can make all the difference and bring back the vital spark that you are looking for.
Half the battle is acknowledging the issues and the problems and admitting to yourself that something needs to change and, if you do decide that you are ready to leave and seek the next stage of your career, it can be difficult to know where to start. What are your options? how will you maintain your earnings? will you be happy? It’s a lot to consider, but with thought and planning and a bit of effort life does successfully continue.
The first step in moving forward is identifying the answer to the following question – “Are you sure you want to leave the industry?
If the answer is “yes” then you need to commit to no knee jerk decisions, your exit needs to be planned, researched and realistic and you need to take your time.
If the answer is “no” then you need to identify what actions you need to take to reset, recharge and refocus, to find fulfilment in your current career.
is it your job?:
Are you staying onboard a vessel in a role that is making you miserable because you are determined to display longevity on your CV? Having preached the importance of longevity, commitment and professionalism for years, I will admit something – it’s all very well but being miserable can have such a long term effect on you, that sometimes you just have to think of yourself first. I don’t advocate flouncing off and leaving your vessel in the lurch but don’t let your self get deeply unhappy unnecessarily. It’s a waste of your energy, even with the best planning and consideration some jobs don’t turn out to be what we think they will be and once you have given it your best shot its best to admit that for all concerned. Or is it the opposite you work on a fantastic vessel with a great crew and owner, but you are no longer happy, and you are reluctant to leave because you know how good your situation is? Either way if you are unhappy you need to act.
Don’t be afraid to stop for a while:
Stopping doesn’t mean coming to a full stop but, it could mean giving yourself some breathing space, taking a proper holiday, going travelling or simply spending some time quietly enjoying a simple life is all hugely beneficial, taking a full season out of the industry will not adversely affect your career if you can illustrate how you have benefited from doing so. You might be able to do this within your rotation or it might mean a bigger decision, is it time to resign and move on, or would your vessel consider a kind of sabbatical? would they support you to take a few months or a season out and return refreshed and repurposed?. It’s always worth asking and negotiating before thinking that handing your notice in is the only option. The key is making the time that you take, work for you.
Find a Mentor or Coach to find a way forward:
Don’t keep things to yourself talking to your fellow professionals and seeking guidance and wisdom from others is a very effective way to find out what you really want to do and how to achieve it. A mentor will use their professional experience to help you understand your options and share knowledge, incite and advice. A coach will help you, to help yourself, by asking key questions that give you the tools to understand and develop your own personal pathway. Take a look at the LEGASEA initiative to find a mentor www.legasea.org.uk or look at the www.lifeafteryachting.com
platform to find a coach and mentors who specialise in careers after you leave the industry.
Focus on your mental and physical health:
This may be an obvious one to discuss but huge benefits can be gained on focusing on your body and mind, mental and physical fitness or lack of, can impact your wellbeing, your focus and your sense of purpose and worth so much more than many people realise. Spending time to work on your fitness levels, eating healthily and understanding what your body needs to function well can all have a huge impact on your happiness and confidence and inner calm. Stress, unhappiness, excess alcohol lack of sleep the perennial issues suffered by crew, can all have an impact on your cortisol levels and be affecting you far more than you may be aware. Don’t be afraid to admit if you are suffering with your mental health and reach out to friends and colleagues and the organisations that are there to help you like www.yachtcrewhelp.org
Financial planning:
Everyone will tell you this, but money gives you choices, it also gives you the ability to have time out and breathing space to think things through or it could be the factor that allows you to spread your wings and set up your own business or retrain. Spending on luxuries and short term thrills is great for a while, but if you haven’t done already, make sure that you are maximising the income that you earn, stop spending and start saving, especially if you are thinking of leaving the industry. Set a gaol and work towards having a target amount of savings. put some structure in place, invest in property and don’t bury your head, take it upon yourself to educate yourself and take some good financial advice, www.crewfo.com can offer you a broad range of advice to put you in the best possible financial position.
Adjust your outlook: You may not realise that you have developed a pretty negative approach to life, if you imagine this analogy, it might put this into perspective. (From The 7 habits of successful people, Stephen R Covey)
You plan a day out, but on the day the weather forecast is awful, are you the sort of person that cancels the day? or do you find ways to enjoy the day despite the weather? You can’t change the weather, but people who are proactive don’t let themselves be adversely affected by it; they control their own narrative. Conversely reactive people, allow external circumstances to dictate their behaviours and emotions and let themselves be a martyr to it and might say things like “It wasn’t my fault” “It was out of my hands”. Think about how your reaction to the outside influences around you onboard could be adjusted, and you might find this is really helpful.
Write a bio document:
A “Bio” or biography document is an overview of your working life that is not structured in the way a cv is. It is a way of looking at your achievements, skills and accomplishments in the round, write freely and when your done try editing it back to a page, then take a good long hard look at yourself. I will be honest, this can be an excruciating exercise if you are not very good at promoting yourself, but it’s a very useful tool in identifying your strengths and potentially the gaps in your skillset. It also gives a potential employer a much broader understanding of what you can offer.
Use your rotation and annual leave wisely:
If you haven’t done already plan ahead to use you rotation time off to work better for you. Not only to take time out but to use it to achieve things that make you feel happy and fulfilled or plan and research your future plans. There is potential to target and gain working experience with organisations that interest you or consider giving back and volunteer to a charity perhaps go back to your roots and teach kids to sail?
Invest in your professional development get excited about what you can learn and achieve:
Just because you have achieved success in your maritime qualifications or position onboard, doesn’t mean that you have nothing left to learn. In fact it’s just the start, there are so many courses that can be studies by distance learning or be achieved that help you to grow your knowledge and broaden your outlook and employability. Look for courses that bring you knowledge that you can apply to improve your performance in your current role and that improve your long term employability.
The main thing to bear in mind is that leaving the industry is not your only option, in fact there are many steps that you can take before you reach that point. It’s all about how you approach it. Whether it is because it is time to move on and it is the catalyst to break into something new or whether it is about finding the perspective that keeps you focused and brings you newfound enjoyment in your role, take the initiative, and see it as a positive step to start planning, thinking, talking and actively seek out that new path.
If your interested in continuing to learn and the themes of this article resonate with you, Emma Baggett and her company, THE OM, have partnered with MLA College to develop an opportunity for superyacht crew to access a final year BSc or MSc In Sustainable Maritime Operations. This degree is delivered via online distance learning, designed to be accessible and completely flexible around working routines. If you don’t have previous academic qualifications, you can use your CoC’s to gain entry. With the opportunity for qualified masters to jump straight to an MSc. Whether you want to build on your maritime qualifications or translate your experience and qualifications gained in the sector into a successful career ashore find out more http://the-om.co.uk/smo