Importance of Teamwork Onboard

As was previously discussed, seafarers spend long periods onboard ships living and working with fellow crew members. Unlike work ashore, seafarers do not have the luxury of returning home when the work is done, and therefore the fact that life and work are the same things is extremely important to ensure a good relationship with work colleagues. The ability to be able to work in a team will help ensure a good working environment. Teamwork is therefore extremely important for various reasons:

• Problem Solving.
• Improving Communication.
• Increasing Learning Opportunities.
• Strengthening Working Relationships.

Problem Solving

Joining forces together with fellow teammates will help in problem-solving.  A person on their own can only have several solutions for solving a problem, whilst an entire team who brainstorms together can come up with a larger number of solutions for the same problem. 

When a person works alone, it might not be as easy to achieve a good result in a short period as it would be for an entire team. Additionally, persons who work together in a team will learn how to solve conflicts among the members.

Improving Communication

With teamwork, the crew members are given more opportunities to communicate and discuss their views and opinions. In doing so, they will not only feel empowered but also feel satisfied and appreciated. Respect between the crew members will also grow as they learn to understand each other and compromise and work together to reach a goal. 

Increasing Learning Opportunities

When you are surrounded by other people who give their opinions about specific topics, such as the way a job should be carried out, crew members might pick up on new ideas and ways of carrying out a job which they would have never thought of on their own, therefore, they start to learn from each other and also supporting each other. These discussions result in seafarers learning new things from their fellow crew. 

Strengthen Working Relationships

When a job is done as a team and appreciated by senior officers, the crew will feel extremely satisfied and appreciated in their work. Additionally, they will understand the importance of every member of their team and how the job was done successfully due to the good relationships between them. This good working relationship will in return develop a stronger bond, mutual trust, and even friendship.

Having said that, teamwork will benefit the crew on a personal level.  When a job is assigned, mutual support should be given from everyone to ensure that a task that needs to be done is achieved. If someone within the team is less skilled than the other in specific tasks, the team must help and assist in teaching the member about what needs to be done.