Looking after 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.

What 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 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

psychological distress levels.”

Since the pandemic hit Australia, 80 per cent of FIFO workers reported that they moved to a longer roster, with 6 0 per cent of workers feeling dissatisfied with their new roster and 20 per cent feeling extremely dissatisfied.

This impacted their mental health, with 16 per cent reporting that they felt lonelier than usual as a direct result of the coronavirus, 25 per cent saying they had less opportunity for social interaction since restrictions were put in place, and 15 per cent responding the restrictions had a negative impact on their family or other relationships.

Another concerning finding in the 2018 study was instances of bullying, with FIFO workers being more likely to suffer incidents of bullying than their non-FIFO counterparts.

Despite being an environment that can breed a competitive atmosphere or the stress of being away from home, FIFO working environments can also be a positive place to discuss mental health if teams come together and are open about their fe elings.

As Gilbert explains, there are pros to counter the cons of a FIFO lifestyle, with more than three quarters of participants in the 2018 survey saying they felt as though they could count on their teammates to have their back and support them at work.

“There are some cons to FIFO work but there are some really good pros,” she says.

“Although workers are spending a lot of time together which can be difficult, it can also be really fantastic for forming meaningful, strong bonds and having a sense of comradery and mateship at work.

“Being in the middle of nowhere doing a really tough job, having a group of people who understand your experience because you’re experiencing it as well can be really helpful.

“A lot of FIFO workers have described it as having a second community or family to rely on.”

With these advantages of FIFO life, building a culture that is supportive and open about reducing the stigma surrounding mental health is about building a culture of learning rather than fear.

Gilbert says the things that FIFO workers have appreciated from their employers during the pandemic have included them covering their selfisolation costs and keeping socialisation possible, even if it’s at a distance.

“Workers really appreciate seeing their company looking after their workers and having their best interests at heart,” Gilbert says.

“This includes the company covering the costs for workers self-isolating or if they need to take sick leave, as well as keeping everyone updated as to what is happening with hygiene, social distancing and travel protocols.

“They also appreciated when their workplace made an effort to put on daily barbecues, walks or bike rides, for example, to keep that sense of comradery, enabling everyone to get together despite the strict restrictions.”

With FIFO workers all going through similar challenges of feeling isolated and missing their families and home communities, Gilbert believes that mining companies need to go back to basics to encourage positive mental health at work, thinking about what people need on a human level. “It’s always easiest to think about getting back to basics,” she says. “It’s easy to overcomplicate things but we are all humans, we all know what kinds of practices make us feel good, it’s having our wellbeing supported, social relatedness and feeling safe, secure and like we have a purpose to what we are doing.”

The Centre for Transformative Work Design at Curtin University is encouraging more FIFO workers to get involved with their study about the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on their lifestyle.

For more information, visit transformativeworkdesign.com/ fifo-mental-health-survey.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com

FIFO workers are more likely to suffer from mental health issues than other workers, according to Curtin University.