Mental health has become an increasingly important issue across industries worldwide, with the mining industry no exception.
The Minerals Council of Australia has released an industry guide titled the Blueprint for Mental Health and Wellbeing. The guide notes that in Australia, nearly one in five people will experience a common mental illness within any 12-month period — a statistic that resonates particularly with the mining community.
As the backbone of Australia’s economy contributing nearly 15% of the nation’s GDP, the mining and METS sectors combined creates more than 1.1 million jobs. Of those jobs, METS businesses employ 300,000 people directly.
While the mining sector is making inroads to focusing and dealing with mental health issues in the workplace, most observers agree more needs to be done.
“The mining industry has come a long way in recent years when it comes to addressing issues around the health and well-being of workers, but there is more to be done,” says WA Minister for Training and Workforce Development; Water; Industrial Relations Simone McGurk.
Mental health: A universal issue
Based on figures obtained from the Minerals Council of Australia, an estimated average between 8,000 and 10,000 employees experience a common mental illness such as anxiety, depression, or substance use in the New South Wales minerals industry alone.
The estimated costs to the industry, including lowered productivity, are between $320 million to $450 million per year or around $300,000 to $400,000 for an average site of 170 people.
To address these concerns, the Mental Awareness, Respect, and Safety (MARS) program is striving to create a safe and positive workplace culture in Western Australia’s mining industry through PhD scholarships.
The Western Australian Government announced the establishment of the MARS Program in December 2021 to address serious mental health, workplace culture and safety issues in the Western Australian mining industry. This week the government announced greater support for the mining industry through these PhD scholarships.
The PhD scholarships, awarded by the Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia, are championing PhD students who are leading the way in health and psychosocial safety research in the minerals sector.
Out of four new awardees, three PhD scholarships are working on challenges to advance mental health initiatives and to shape strategies that put the well-being of workers first.
Ronald James at Edith Cowan University (ECU) is exploring how ‘psychological capital’ can be leveraged to improve psychological safety in the Western Australian mining industry. Psychological capital (or PsyCap) refers to the internal resources each person has available to help manage tough situations. These are defined as – Hope, Efficacy, Resilience, and Optimism (or HERO).
Another scholarship for Nousheen Fatima at ECU examines impacts of psychosocial risk factors on workforce sustainability and workers’ behaviour in the industry.
The third scholarship for Patrick Benetti at the University of Western Australia is focused on researching how leaders construct and deliver safety stories and capture the impact on outcomes.
The MARS program also funds a psychosocial risk management program which addresses psychosocial issues directly with mining companies in Western Australia. The program assists participants to understand the legislation and meet regulatory compliance requirements, as well as develop skills to identify hazards, conduct appropriate risk assessments and establish different levels of controls to minimise harm.
The MARS program focuses on three key areas including creating mentally healthy workplaces, building a culture of safety and respect, and preparing for workplace safety in future mining.
WA Mines and Petroleum Minister David Michael says the MARS Program PhD Scholarships are key to positioning Western Australia as a global leader in workplace safety and mental health in the mining sector.
“By supporting mineral research through initiatives like the MARS Program, we are reinforcing the importance of workplace health and safety in Western Australia’s mining sector,” Michael adds.
In need of a HERO
Mining is widely recognised as a hazardous profession. This is not only due to its physical dangers, but also because of the significant impact it can have on workers’ mental health. The nature of mining work, particularly for fly-in-fly-out (FIFO) jobs, can trigger a range of mental health issues, such as anxiety, stress, depression, mental fatigue, and sleep disorders, just to name a few.
The Western Australian Government’s MARS Program Landmark Study reveals that one in three mining workers experience regular emotional exhaustion, indicating high levels of burnout, as reported by Mining.com.au.
Mines and Petroleum Minister David Michael says the aforementioned MARS research will help drive innovative solutions and support sustainable workforce practices.
“The Western Australian Government is proud to invest in the next generation of researchers whose work will directly contribute to improving safety outcomes and fostering healthier, more inclusive workplace cultures across the mining industry,” Michael says.
According to the National Institutes of Health, hope, optimism, and work engagement have a positive impact on safety compliance.
The American Psychological Association also notes that developing psychological capital is essential for businesses due to it fostering a resilient and positive work culture, as well as enabling employees to overcome challenges, embrace change, and enhance overall performance.
Psychosocial refers to the combined effect that psychological factors and the social environment have on a person’s physical and mental health.
Some of these risks in the mining industry include remote and isolated work, poor environmental conditions, harassment, bullying, and poor workplace relationships including interpersonal conflict.
The male dominated culture in mining further complicates the issues of not recognising personal mental health problems.
According to Logic Health, the FIFO workforce is predominantly males aged between 25 to 44. Couple this with that fact that Elliotts Australia reports that suicide is the number one killer of men aged between 15 and 44 years old, and it’s easy to see a troubling picture emerging.
Safe Work Australia data shows out of 10,000 serious mental stress claims in 2021-22, more than 52% were due to work-related harassment, bullying, or work pressure.
In the decade preceding 2023, more than 1,850 traumatic injury fatalities occurred in Australia – and about one in 12 workers (1.14 million) made a serious workers’ compensation claim.
A meta-analysis of suicide by occupation in Australia identified a higher risk of suicide among men with low-level manual skills compared with those in high-skilled nonmanual positions.
This evidence suggests that workers in industries employing a higher proportion of younger male workers, such as mining and construction, likely have greater exposure to workplace incidents involving fatalities, serious injuries, and suicide than occupations with a more diverse labour profile.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: WA Government, Minerals Council & Unsplash
