Bullying in Fly-In-Fly-Out employees in the Australian resources sector: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

BackgroundWorkplace bullying has diverse consequences at both the organisational and individual level. Anecdotal reports indicate that workplace bullying is an issue of particular concern for Australian FIFO workers, which may impact on psychosocial distress. However, no prior studies have examined this issue empirically in a FIFO worker cohort. Methods and materialsA cross-sectional survey study design was used to establish the prevalence of bullying in Australian FIFO, antecedents of bullying, and its association with psychosocial distress. Responses were received from 580 FIFO workers in the Australian resources sector. Primary outcome measures were Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised, Beck Depression Inventory II, and Beck Hopelessness Scale. Logistic regression models were constructed to examine the association between bullying, suicide risk, and clinical depression. ResultsOver half of the respondents experienced workplace bullying (55.7%), and about one-third reported moderate or more severe depression (32.3%). Being above the median age (OR = 0.51; 95% CI = 0.31-0.83) and having a supervisor who failed to promote collaboration (OR = 3.04; 95% CI = 1.84-5.04) were both significantly associated with experiencing bullying. Bullying was associated with an almost threefold increase in the likelihood of participants reporting increased suicide risk (OR = 2.70; 95% CI = 1. 53-4.76). Bullying was also associated with participants being almost two and a half times more likely to report clinical depression (OR = 2.38; 95% CI = 1.40-4.05). ConclusionThe incidence of bullying in Australian FIFO workers has reached alarming proportions. Bullying was significantly associated with higher levels of clinical depression and suicide risk.

Health and well-being of rotation workers in the mining, offshore oil and gas, and construction industry: a systematic review

“…The majority of participants in the studies were men (averagely 91.2%), and all were aged between 16 and 68 years (mean of study means=39.23±4.29 years). The majority (89.25%) of studies were rated medium to high on the JBI Quality Rating Scale: 58 of 90 studies, for example, [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43] rated ≥70% (high), 23 studies, for example, 18 44-49 rated 50%-69% (medium), and 9 studies, for example, 17 50-57 rated <50% (low) (table 1).…”

“…83 Stigmatisation and bullying Five cross-sectional studies identified workplace bullying to be associated with poor mental health outcomes. 41 42 52 62 73 Two studies documented workers who experienced workplace bullying were more likely to have high levels of suicide risk (OR=2.70; 95% CI=1.53 to 4.76), clinical depression (OR=2.38; 95% CI=1.40 to 4.05) 41 and psychological distress (OR=1.49; 95% CI=1.07 to 2.10) 62 than those who did not. Likewise, one study found increase in workplace bullying was associated with increased level of anxiety.…”

Fly-in-fly-out work: A review of the impact of an extreme form of work-related travel on mental health

“…Third, bullying is likely related to the blending of work and life while FIFO workers are away from home. We include bullying here as this was identified by a number of studies on FIFO work arrangements as an issue that affects worker mental health negatively (Sellenger & Oosthuizen, 2017; Miller et al, 2019; 2020). Bullying constitutes the repeated exposure to behaviour that is experienced to be intimidating, humiliating, or frightening (Leymann, 1996).…”

“…We identified seven studies that statistically linked specific work and workplace attributes of FIFO workers with mental health outcomes. A survey study (Miller et al, 2020) identified social support as being positive for workers' mental health. In a survey study, Gilbert (2019) identified sense of community on site, as well as key work arrangement factors (including social aspects of the work environment, company support to attend to non-work issues, satisfaction with current work position, and quality of accommodation), as predictors of better mental health outcomes amongst FIFO workers.…”

“…Miller et al (2019; n = 751; 2020; n = 580) identified bullying on site as connected to suicide risk and depression in FIFO workers based on two independent survey data sets. The remaining eight of the studies reporting a negative effect of FIFO on worker mental health are in part focused on the impact of FIFO work on the social and family life of workers.…”