Cost of Health-Related Work Productivity Loss among Fly-In Fly-Out Mining Workers in Australia

Bernard Yeboah-Asiamah Asare; Marshall Makate; Daniel Powell; Dominika Kwasnicka; Suzanne Robinson

doi:10.3390/ijerph191610056

Cost of Health-Related Work Productivity Loss among Fly-In Fly-Out Mining Workers in Australia

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Aug 15;19(16):10056. doi: 10.3390/ijerph191610056.

Authors

Bernard Yeboah-Asiamah Asare^{1

2}, Marshall Makate¹, Daniel Powell^{2

3}, Dominika Kwasnicka^{4

5}, Suzanne Robinson^{1

6}

Affiliations

¹ Curtin School of Population Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Perth 6102, Australia.
² Health Psychology, Institute of Applied Health Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK.
³ Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK.
⁴ Faculty of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Aleksandra Ostrowskiego 30b, 53-238 Wroclaw, Poland.
⁵ NHMRC CRE in Digital Technology to Transform Chronic Disease Outcomes, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, 333 Exhibition Street, Melbourne 3000, Australia.
⁶ Deakin Health Economics, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Burwood 3125, Australia.

Abstract

Sufficient knowledge on the work productivity impact of the health of fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers in the mining sector in Australia is lacking. This study examined the impact of health and lifestyle behaviours on the work productivity of FIFO workers in the mining industry in Australia. FIFO workers completed an online questionnaire on health and work productivity loss measures. Linear regressions were used to model annual work productivity losses through absenteeism, presenteeism and total productivity loss. Workers with a high risk for health conditions were, on average, associated with 3.87% more productivity loss (absenteeism: 1.27% and presenteeism: 2.88%) than those with low risk. Workers who had multiple health risks classified as medium (3-4 health conditions) and high (5 or more health conditions) reported 1.75% and 7.46% more total productivity loss, respectively, than those with fewer multiple health risks (0-2 health conditions). Health conditions were estimated to account for an annual additional productivity cost due to absenteeism of AUD 8.82 million, presenteeism of AUD 14.08 million and a total productivity loss of AUD 20.96 million per 1000 workers. FIFO workers with high health risks experience more absenteeism, presenteeism and overall productivity loss. These measures provide strong economic justifications that could support the need for targeted workplace health interventions.

Keywords: FIFO; absenteeism; health; mining; presenteeism; productivity loss.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Absenteeism
Animals
Australia
Diptera*
Efficiency
Presenteeism

Grants and funding

The study was funded by the Aberdeen-Curtin Alliance International Postgraduate Research Scholarship and Research Stipend Scholarship of the University of Aberdeen, Scotland and Curtin University, Australia, awarded to Bernard Yeboah-Asiamah Asare (Curtin ID: 17619778; Aberdeen ID: 51987326). Mineral Resources Limited, Australia also supported the study by providing AUD 200 shopping voucher to the winner of a raffle draw as reimbursement for study participation. Mineral Resources Limited played no role in the design of the study, data collection and analysis, interpretation of study findings, preparation or decision to submit this manuscript for publication.