TECHNICAL SUMMARY 

STUDY TITLE: Commute Employment: Implications And Best Practice Approaches. 

REPORT TITLE: The Effects Of Offshore Employment In The Petroleum Industry: A 

Cross-National Perspective 

CONTRACT NUMBER(S): 17086 

SPONSORING OCS REGION: Environmental Studies Program Headquarters 

APPLICABLE PLANNING AREA(S): All 

FISCAL YEAR(S) OF PROJECT FUNDING: 2000 - 2001 

COMPLETION DATE OF REPORT: November 2001 

COST(S): FY 2000: $99,855; CUMULATIVE PROJECT COST: $99,855 

PROJECT MANAGER(S): M. Shrimpton 

AFFILIATION: Community Resource Services Ltd. 

ADDRESS: P.O. Box 5936, 53 Long’s Hill, St. John’s, Newfoundland, A1C 5X4, Canada 

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR(S)*: M. Shrimpton and K. Storey 

KEY WORDS: socioeconomic studies; Alaska; Pacific; Gulf of Mexico; North Sea; 

Newfoundland; employment; families; women; children; communities; social change; 

industry change; cost-reduction; unionization; work schedules; shift-work; commuting; 

fatigue; stress; safety; accommodations; transportation; communications; human 

resources; hiring; orientation; parenting; counseling. 

BACKGROUND: Both the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act as amended in 1978 and the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 direct the Minerals Management Service (MMS) 

to study the human and non-human environment of OCS oil and gas development and to 

provide the MMS and State and local governments with information needed to ensure that 

OCS activities are conducted in an environmentally safe and appropriate manner. Within 

the MMS, the Environmental Studies Program (ESP) bears this responsibility. The social 

and economic effects of OCS activity often are the most immediately apparent and long 

lasting. 

This includes the effects of offshore employment, which are born by the workers 

themselves and their employers, families and communities. These effects are not fully 

understood, not least because there have been rapid changes in both the industry and its 

working practices, and in the expectations and aspirations of offshore workers and their 

family members. In the former case, new technologies have changed the industry’s modes 

of operation and labor requirements. This is especially the case in the Gulf of Mexico, 

given the slow shift from myriad small near-shore operations to larger deep-water projects. 

Furthermore, new business arrangements and cost-reduction initiatives have led to crew 

reductions, a fragmentation of work teams, an increased use of contactor personnel and 

flexible, irregular and ‘call-out’ schedules, and an intensification of work activity and 

pressures. 
At the same time, younger workers and spouses increasingly define themselves in terms of 

their personal and family, rather that work, lives. Exacerbated by the changes in business 

arrangements and practices, this has led to a decline in loyalty to employers. These 

younger couples also more commonly share domestic responsibilities, including decisionmaking, and female spouses are more likely to want and hold paid employment. 

OBJECTIVES: To complement other Minerals Management Service (MMS) studies by 

providing detailed information on the effects of offshore employment and the options for 

managing them. 

DESCRIPTION: The project saw the initial preparation of a bibliography on commute 

employment, its effects and their management. This bibliography covers offshore 

employment in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Norway and other jurisdictions, as 

well as the use of commute work in the mining industry. Based on review of this material, 

key informant interviews and the professional knowledge of the principal investigators, this 

report provides a summary and discussion of the use of commute employment, its effects 

and their management. It benefited greatly from a December 2000 review workshop held 

in New Orleans, Louisiana, that was attended by regulators, consultants, academics and 

industry representatives from the US, Canada, England and Scotland.

SIGNIFICANT CONCLUSIONS: Offshore employment is not inherently problematic, 

offering both advantages and disadvantages for workers, their families, their communities 

and those responsible for employment-related concerns. It has implications for various 

work and family life issues, including: health and safety; the employment of women, 

minorities and older workers; and family life. It also affects the communities and regions 

where workers live, in terms of residential patterns, expenditures, non-commute 

employment, local investment, community life and social and recreational services. 

The challenge for all concerned is to recognize and address the negative effects. From an 

industry perspective, the benefits of doing so can be considerable, in terms of retention 

rates, safety and productivity, and the costs modest. Employer initiatives re work 

schedules, accommodations, transportation, communications, hiring, orientation, 

counseling and family policies and services can optimize the effects of the offshore 

employment. Regulatory authorities, local government agencies, community groups, 

workers and their families also have an important role to play in addressing these effects. 

However, the literature on offshore employment focuses on large operations and 

companies, fixed work schedules, and married male workers, and often uses limited, 

qualitative and anecdotal data. Some important studies are old and particular to specific 

operations and contexts, and there is little systematic information on response initiatives 

and their success. These limitations are exacerbated by the rapid pace of change in the 

industry and in the attitudes and expectations of workers and their families. 

STUDY RESULTS: The research demonstrates that there are important gaps in the 

understanding of offshore employment, its effects and best practice responses. However, 

offshore employment clearly has significant effects on some workers, families and 

communities, and on workplace health and safety, retention, productivity. Recent industry 

changes have generally had negative effects in respect to all these issues, as well as 

reducing the loyalty of employees to their employers and vice versa. Given these findings, 

it is important that the industry, regulators and others pay increased attention to the human 

resources issues associated with offshore employment, especially as they relate to the 

effects on workers and their families. This includes an increase in research into different 

aspects of offshore employment and its effects. 
STUDY PRODUCT(S): Community Resource Services Ltd. 2001. The effects of offshore 

employment in the petroleum industry: a cross-national perspective. A final report for the 

U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service Environmental Studies 

Program, Herndon, Virginia. Contract No. 17086. ? pp. 

* P.I.'s affiliation may be different than that listed for Project Manager(s).