Fifth of Oil, Gas Workers Feel Like Outsiders at Work

A fifth of oil and gas workers (19 percent) feel like outsiders at work with almost a third (29 percent) not considering their workplace to be a community, despite the majority of oil and gas workers (72 percent) wanting to feel a strong sense of belonging at work.

That’s according to a new report from O.C. Tanner, which collected and analyzed the perspectives of over 36,000 employees, leaders, HR practitioners, and business executives from 20 countries around the world, including 186 oil and gas workers.

Fifteen percent of oil and gas workers felt like outsiders at work in a 2022 O.C. Tanner report, an O.C. Tanner spokesperson told Rigzone. The spokesperson could not provide Rigzone with comparable 2022 ‘community’ and ‘belonging’ figures.

According to the latest O.C. Tanner report, eight key factors provide a workplace with a strong sense of community. These comprise shared goals, commitment, communication, feedback, camaraderie, trust, adaptation and unity. Of these, oil and gas workers ranked camaraderie/relationship with team members as the most important aspect for nurturing belonging, the report revealed.

“Thriving cultures have a strong sense of community that brings and holds employees together” Georgia Portwain, O.C. Tanner’s Culture and Engagement Strategist, said in an organization statement.

“Employees who feel that they belong will stay at the company for longer, will be more resilient to change and are more likely to deliver great work,” Portwain added.

“Leaders need to recognize that having a strong and sustaining workplace community is the foundation of organizational success, and so they must find ways to bring their people together and create an environment of trust, unity and appreciation,” Portwain continued.

Rigzone has asked UK industry body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), U.S. industry body the American Petroleum Institute (API), and the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) for comment on O.C. Tanner’s findings. At the time of writing, Rigzone has not yet received a comment on the findings from OEUK, API or IOGP.

O.C. Tanner describes itself as the global leader in software and services that improve workplace culture through meaningful employee experiences. Multiple research methods are used to support the O.C. Tanner report, including interviews, focus groups, cross-sectional surveys, and a longitudinal survey, the organization highlighted in a statement sent to Rigzone.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com