Mental health
‘Back to basics’ key to caring for FIFO mental health
Coronavirus restrictions have made FIFO conditions even more difficult for workers mentally.
WITH LONG, SOMETIMES INCONSISTENT ROSTERS FAR AWAY FROM HOME, THE FLY-IN FLY-OUT LIFESTYLE HAS NEVER BEEN FOR THE FAINT HEARTED. SAFE TO WORK SPEAKS WITH CURTIN UNIVERSITY ABOUT THE IMPACT THIS LIFESTYLE CAN HAVE ON MENTAL HEALTH.
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hat was already a tough gig for mental health and family relationships has now become even more difficult, with many companies making the difficult decision to extend fly-in, fly-out (FIFO) rosters as the coronavirus pandemic hit Australia. The Centre for Transformative Work Design at Curtin University has spent two years studying the impacts of a FIFO lifestyle on mental health, surveying more than 3000 workers in 2018 and 275 since the coronavirus pandemic hit. Conducted by Prof. Sharon Parker and Dr Jess Gilbert from the Centre for Transformative Work Design at Curtin University and Dr Laura Fruhen from the University of Western Australia, the study has uncovered that 33 per cent of FIFO workers feel high or very high levels of psychological distress. Concerningly, this figure rose by 7 per cent as the pandemic affected Australia and FIFO working
conditions changed. Gilbert says the already shaky continuity of settling in a home community has been further shaken as many FIFO workers transitioned to rosters that meant less time at home with their families and in some cases, quarantining in complete isolation during off weeks. “The unusual lifestyle of FIFO workers being away from home for extended periods of time and not having ongoing continuity of being in their home community and social networks makes for quite a challenging lifestyle,” Gilbert tells Safe to Work. “We have never experienced anything like the coronavirus pandemic before and the situation is constantly changing so it has been a real challenge for companies and workers at the moment.” This has given companies and their workers the task of balancing what is safest regarding inter-region or state travel during the pandemic, versus
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the mental toll a change in rosters has on workers. “If you looked at it from purely a protocol and compliance level, it would be safest for everyone to stay on site until the pandemic is over,” Gilbert says. “But that is not at all practical and it’s not in the best interest of the workers in terms of their wellbeing, family relationships or mental health. “Something else to consider, of course, is the self-isolation some workers are needing to undertake as to whether or not its paid or unpaid, who pays for the accommodation, whether workers have some rest and relaxation close to site, it is impossible to generalise what every FIFO site worker is experiencing. “Add this in with the general feeling of people being very concerned about the pandemic, job security and feeling more disconnected from home communities, FIFO workers are feeling much lonelier and statistically we have seen this rise in their
