What companies can do to help improve mental health in FIFO work

Mental health is a safety risk in the FIFO industry directly related to worker wellbeing and can lead to critical risks to worker’s safety. The cost of suicide or self-harm is not only an issue for the person involved, it affects friends, family and coworkers and has serious, long term emotional and financial impacts for everyone.

With World Mental Health Day approaching on 10^th of October, we wanted to explore the complex realities of mental health across FIFO work, and the practical ways we can all help minimise these risks and support one another.

A snapshot of the impact of poor mental health in the industries we serve:

• Suicide in the Energy sector: In a recent study by MATES in Energy, 65.4% of respondents knew someone who’d attempted suicide, 69.4% knew someone who’d died.¹

• Suicide in the Mining sector: Recent suicide attempt rates are estimated at 3 times the general Australian population. ²
• The more remote, the higher the risk and the cost: For the NT construction industry, conservative estimates put the employer cost of a single short-term absence at $1,175. When the non-economic value of a life is included, the average rises to $8.2 million to account for critical-path delays, weather dependant operations, camp and travel costs on remote jobs and overtime and fly-in labour to cover gaps).³

It is important to understand the contributing factors to a person’s mental health and wellbeing well before things get overwhelming. Working in remote areas, with longer time away from home can be compounded by relationships, financial pressure, work stress and fatigue, bullying and harassment and substance abuse. That’s why treating psychosocial risk like any other critical hazard is fundamental to reducing the risk and removing as many of these factors as possible to a person’s mental stress.

Psychosocial hazards must be managed like any other WHS risk. By providing education and access to clean and healthy food and accommodation at camp, adequate breaks and recovery, respectful workplace behaviour, and confidential support systems, workers feel supported and valued. Alongside these controls, we equip leaders and peers to notice hardship early and act.

“Our approach starts with reducing risk at the source, working closely with clients before project commencement to analyse each site’s specific pressure points and risk profile. This is then driven and owned by Team leaders who lead by example to ensure all workers are empowered to show that respect is valued at work, and peers know how to respond when someone is struggling, making each other feel valued and seen.” Allan Bramble, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director.

As psychosocial risk in the Demolition and Remediation industry is dynamic, it is important to plan for site-specific pressure points by building critical-incident protocols with clear standards and expectations.