Table 1 The Dutch offshore environment

Offshore operations are carried out on remote platforms in hazardous marine and industrial environments. Offshore workers work 12 hours a day for fourteen consecutive days, followed by fourteen days off work. The physical properties of the platforms (e.g. noise and motion levels) and the social factors of the job (e.g., being away from home) add to the uniqueness of the offshore work environment. In the Dutch offshore environment, it is still common to retire about 10 years before the official retirement age. A possible reason is that most offshore workers execute highly demanding physical work, which poses additional risks on workers’ safety and health making them more prone to retire early.