The uncontrollable and erratic shift patterns in the mining and energy sector is beginning to exact a toll on the mental and physical health of the industry’s workforce, according to a new report released by Griffith University.

 

A team of researchers from the university released preliminary findings of the Australian Coal and Energy Survey, which documents a range of experiences of workers in the sector.

 

“We saw a complex set of reactions among mining and energy workers to shift work,” Professor David Peetz from Griffith University’s Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing, said.

 

“Some were happy, others not.  Among those working shifts, views were evenly split on whether they wanted to abandon shift work altogether and go back to day jobs. However, most employees had very little say over their hours and shift arrangements – half had no say at all.”

 

Professor Peetz, Associate Professor Georgina Murray and Dr Olav Muurlink gathered data from close to 4500 survey participants including 2566 CFMEU members and 1915 partners.

 

“The findings in this report are very much preliminary,” Professor Peetz noted.  “Wave 2 will be important as it will examine the same population in 2013.  Then we can make firmer conclusions.

 

“However, we can say at this stage that, for those workers who clearly want and are unable to attain fewer hours of work, there appears to be a significant impact on depression, and a greater use of sleeping tablets, antacids and anti-depressants.

 

“The respondents showed sleeping difficulties. And when you had lack of control combined with wanting to work fewer hours, it not only made mining and energy workers more likely to feel unsafe, it also had negative health effects, including on psychological health.”

 

The key findings of the preliminary report are:

  • The majority of mining and energy workers (61 per cent) preferred to work less than forty-one hours per week.
  • Some 50 per cent of employees surveyed were working more hours than they would prefer, even after taking into account how that would affect their income and other activities, while 39 per cent were working the number of hours they would prefer and 11 per cent would prefer to be working more hours.
  • Some 58 per cent of respondents ‘sometimes’, ‘almost always’ or ‘frequently’ experienced difficulty falling asleep between successive night shifts and 62 per cent experienced such difficulties when their shift changed.
  • In around a third of cases, the working hours of a couple were ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ in sync. Fifty two per cent of employed partners worked at least some weekends.
  • 40 per cent said, all other things being equal, they would definitely or probably prefer to give up working shifts and get a daytime job without shifts, 19 per cent said maybe, and 41 per cent said probably or definitely not.
  • 65 per cent of mine and energy workers cited ‘higher rates of pay’ as one of their reasons for working shifts and 57 per cent cited blocks of leisure time. Nearly half (48 per cent of respondents) indicated ‘no choice’ as one of the reasons.
  • 61 per cent of mine and energy workers had no say in how many hours they worked a week, 70 per cent had no say in their types of shifts, 74 per cent had no say in which shifts they worked on particular days, and 79 per cent had no say in start and finishing times.
  • While 25 per cent of those working the hours they preferred said they were, ‘often’ or ‘almost always’, rushed and pressed for time, the figure rose to 48 per cent among those who wanted to work fewer hours.
  • Workers who wished to reduce their hours were about two fifths more likely to be using anti-depressants than those who were on the hours they preferred.
  • Use of sleeping tablets was higher among workers who had no say in their hours.
  •  Shift patterns were complex, with over 70 distinct patterns of shift work found.