WORKPLACE CULTURE - OFFSHORE ENTRY FORM
The Offshore Workplace of Choice Award recognises an offshore workplace whose crew have built something special offshore - a positive, welcoming and inclusive environment for everyone on board, from core crew to ad-hoc personnel, contractors and vendors. The Award is open to any UKCS manned fixed platform, drilling unit or floating facility, including FPSOs.
Offshore is unlike any other workplace: personnel live where they work, away from family, friends and community for weeks at a time, sharing living quarters in a 24/7 rotational environment. Alongside these demands, offshore workers carry an additional burden of ill health - both physical and psychosocial - compared to office-based and other land-based personnel, with higher rates of stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness and isolation, cumulative fatigue, sleep disruption and musculoskeletal injury.
The offshore workplaces people genuinely want to be a part of are those that recognise these challenges and actively work against them - turning a crew into a community where there is high morale and camaraderie, where the crew feels like a second family, and where the tour becomes about thriving rather than just surviving.
What the judges are looking for
In collaboration with RigRun, the judges will identify a shortlist and will specifically be looking for offshore workplaces that can demonstrate:
Belonging and camaraderie on board: a genuine sense of community and togetherness; a crew that feels like a second family, where new starts, short-trip visitors and vendors are welcomed and made part of the team from day one.
Inclusion across the whole POB: initiatives that reach everyone on board regardless of role, employer, discipline, age or fitness level, with no divide between company staff and contractors.
Life off shift, not just work on shift: what happens on board in the hours between shifts: galley food, fitness and recreation, social events and competitions, cabin and communal standards, and connectivity that keeps personnel in touch with home.
Crew health and wellbeing: support for physical activity, mental health and morale during trips, and active steps to counter the elevated risks offshore personnel face: stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness and isolation, cumulative fatigue, sleep disruption and musculoskeletal injury.
Going beyond compliance - occupational health and safety support that goes over and above legal and regulatory requirements, showing a genuine commitment to personnel rather than a minimum standard.
A culture that delivers results - evidence that this environment translates into high morale, engagement and crew retention (people asking to come back), and into safer, more efficient operations.
HOW TO ENTER
Complete each section following the guidelines and adhering to the stated word count. Once you have fully completed the form to your satisfaction, please click the submit button. Entries must be received no later than Friday 17th December 2026. For any queries, please contact oaa@mearns-gill.com