Shiftwork’s psychological impact revealed

Shiftwork patterns in the mining and energy sectors could be impacting negatively on workers’ physical and mental health. While the Australian Coal and Energy Survey, conducted by Griffith University, shows mixed experiences for workers, it found that most employees have little control over their shifts.

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

“Some were happy, others not. Among those working shifts, views were evenly split on whether they wanted to abandon shiftwork 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.”

Along with colleagues Associate Professor Georgina Murray and Dr Olav Muurlink, Peetz gathered data from nearly 4500 participants, including 2566 CFMEU members and 1915 of their partners. The same survey will be conducted in 2013, when Peetz anticipates the team will be able to draw firmer conclusions from the data.

“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 antidepressants,” Peetz said.

Women tended to report poorer job quality, Murray said, with more female than male miners feeling they have little say in their hours and shift arrangements and some fearing losing their jobs.

“Workers with no say over their hours and shifts seemed to have more difficulty sleeping and be more likely to feel unsafe at work or on their way to or from work,” added Professor Peetz. “They were more likely to feel too tired or emotionally drained to do things they should at home.

“The lack of say was having a flow-on effect. Their partners often confirmed that their spouses were indeed too tired or emotionally drained to function properly and that it affected them. Mining and energy workers and their partners were less satisfied with their free time or with how much they felt part of their community than were the broader Australian population.

“This has major implications for labour turnover and costs. Despite the high wages, the mining industry has one of the highest quit rates. It appears many employees find the working arrangements too difficult and leave, while many who remain would rather work fewer hours.”

Key findings from the report include:

• The majority of mining and energy workers (61%) preferred to work less than 41 hours per week.
• Some 50% 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% were working the number of hours they would prefer and 11% would prefer to be working more hours.
• In around a third of cases, the working hours of a couple were ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ in sync. 52% of employed partners worked at least some weekends.
• 61% of mine and energy workers had no say in how many hours they worked a week, 70% had no say in their types of shifts, 74% had no say in which shifts they worked on particular days, and 79% had no say in start and finishing times.
• Workers who wished to reduce their hours were about two fifths more likely to be using antidepressants than those who were on the hours they preferred.

The research was funded through the Australian Research Council (ARC) under its Linkage program and was conducted from August to December 2011. The program was funded jointly by the ARC and the Mining and Energy Division of the CFMEU.