Mental wellbeing in mining – a shared responsibility

Policies addressing healthcare are beginning to include psychological care. Credit: Andre_Nucci via Shutterstock

Remarkable though it seems, it has been 13 years since the world turned its gaze towards the century-old San Jose copper mine in Chile and the fate of 33 men trapped inside. Thankfully, the story had a positive conclusion when all men were pulled to safety a few months on. But several years later, some of those that had been trapped were reported to still be suffering the mental implications of their experience.

This sobering tale, albeit extreme, reminds us of the risks faced by miners; not just physical, but those related to mental wellbeing too. The more “mundane” elements of mining bring with them unique challenges: burnout; isolation thanks to the often remoteness of mining operations; and physical and mental exhaustion caused by harsh environments to name a few.

On the face of it this might seem a separate issue, but although huge strides have been taken to diversify the sector’s workforce, it is still predominantly male. Globally, women account for at most 17% of employees and, says management consultancy McKinsey & Company, their drop-off from entry level to executive is “among the most dramatic across industries” it studied in a 2020 analysis.

The gender mix may, in part, be a contributing factor to mental wellbeing in the sector. The Minerals Council of Australia highlighted that in its 2015 “Blueprint for Mental Health and Wellbeing Industry” guidance, which noted that the composition of the mining workforce, coupled with the nature of work and the challenges of working and living in isolated regions that lack social and health services, were factors for consideration when assessing psychological health and safety (PHS) needs.

Today, considerable progress has been made in PHS and understanding its impact on the mining community. “There are many examples of very good practice supporting mental health in the mining sector, particularly amongst our senior producers,” says Michelle Hohn, psychological health and safety specialist at Canada’s Akashic Communications. “Whether it be through the promotion of known protective wellness factors in the workplace or the identification of psychosocial hazards and assessing risk factors in the design of work.”

The publication of Rio Tinto’s self-critical, comprehensive, external review gives a good example of a growing willingness to be more open about the issue. It identified “disturbing findings of bullying, sexual harassment, racism and other forms of discrimination throughout the company” and made 26 detailed recommendations for change. Around the same time, another report by the government of Western Australia criticised the lack of advances on the issue.

Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, part of Western Australia’s Curtin University, said Australia’s mining companies had made progress in supporting employee wellbeing but that there was more to do, particularly relating to these behaviours and their impact on mental health. It found that one in four workers in general, and 74% of female employees, had encountered sexual harassment in the previous five years. “The mining sector, particularly in Western Australia […] faces unique challenges associated with remote working and travel, shift work, temporary accommodation, exposure to health and safety hazards and a male-dominated workforce that potentially contribute to poor employee mental health and wellbeing,” said associate professor and principal research fellow Astghik Mavisakalyan.

Hohn – a registered counsellor with more than 25 years’ experience of working with the mining industry – believes that by now all companies, regardless of size or scope, should  integrate the concept of mental health and psychological safety into their policy landscapes, including respectful workplaces free of discrimination or harassment, reinforced by a code of ethics and a harassment prevention policy among other measures.

“At the heart of the matter,” she says, “people need to feel psychologically safe to perform optimally, in addition to organisations having robust policies and zero-harm management systems in place to ensure their people actually are physically safe.” She does, though, step away from being critical of mining companies as a whole. She reiterates her experience, that many are proactively moving to address mental health awareness, including the promotion of known protective wellness factors in the workplace or the identification of psychosocial risk factors in the design of work.

She believes that we now live in an era of more open recognition that wellbeing at work can – and does – contribute to quality of life outside of work. This speaks directly to contemporary recruitment and retention strategies, particularly among young people, in addition to demonstrating a genuine concern for an employee’s mental and emotional wellbeing. “That said, if companies are going to take their time embracing a voluntary approach, either proactively or intuitively, the regulatory environment is evolving to ensure that workplace psychosocial hazards are identified, and that those potential risks are assessed alongside physical health and safety hazards; treated like climate-related risks, or any other enterprise-wide risk.”

Hohn describes Australia’s labour regulations as the globe’s “PHS leadership example”, after its government published the “Model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work” document in August 2022. Safe Work Australia says the code – which is subject to legal application by individual states and territories – places the primary duty of care on any person conducting a business or undertaking to “eliminate psychosocial risks, or if that is not reasonably practicable, minimise them so far as is reasonably practicable”, meaning addressing “all relevant matters when determining what control measures to implement”. Thanks to this, says Hohn, understanding what might cause impact to mental wellbeing at work is currently cascading into mining companies in the region.

However, she believes responsibility for mental wellbeing is not just an employers. “Mental health in the workplace is a shared responsibility,” she says, “meaning that in addition to a company’s responsibility to provide support and resources, there are also steps that individuals can take to ensure they are tending to their own emotional and mental wellbeing.” She says those working across the industry should know and use their employment benefits: “Workplace surveys include stress and burnout as top mental health concerns, and yet many employees often do not use all of their personal days or take full advantage of the benefits relating to mental health,” she advises.

Employees should also fully engage with work-related initiatives which promote mental health and help identify potential or actual psychosocial hazards. “Be mindful of your own mental and emotional wellbeing and embrace a culture of genuine interest and gentle inquiry amongst co-workers and colleagues if others appear in distress,” she continues. Hohn notes that she often hears reluctance from those she works with to get involved in the personal lives of co-workers because of belief that it may not be someone’s place to do so. “I recommend Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) training, which provides a framework and approach when observing a colleague or friend who may be experiencing declining mental wellbeing, or in a crisis situation.”

She stresses that MHFA is not about telling someone what they need or should be doing, it simply helps trainees recognise signs and build confidence to initiate conversations, provide reassurance and support. “Employers and workers do not need to learn how to diagnose mental illness or how to counsel. MHFA is similar to standard first aid, where individuals are trained in a set of skills, but are not a substitute for a first responder,” she adds.

Attention to mental wellbeing is growing in prominence for the sector and, as Australia shows, more broadly among regulators too. Hohn is positive about the direction things are moving in, saying she believes companies are becoming increasingly thoughtful around the idea of the promotion of mental health. “It makes a great deal of sense to develop and normalise a workplace culture of caring that includes how to look out for each other,” she concludes.

While many companies already have well-established employee assistance plans, she is hearing from growing numbers looking for support in updating or refining some of the specific terms of their benefits package. This includes increasing reimbursement limits or expanding definitions as to what constitutes eligibility for counselling or performance coaching support, providing additional and even-more flexible access to resources, and expanding bereavement policies to be more inclusive of modern relationships.

It seems the conversation about mental health in mining is getting louder, and more impactful. Companies, both large like Rio Tinto and smaller, are increasingly open to talk and act. Such dialogue can only be a welcome thing: more talking means less taboo, and less suffering in any time of hardship.