Living FIFO: the experiences and psychosocial wellbeing of Western Australian fly-in/fly-out

296 Pages·2017·1.35 MB·English

by  Anne M. Sibbel

Edith Cowan University
Research Online
Theses: Doctorates and Masters Theses
2010
Living FIFO: the experiences and psychosocial wellbeing of
Western Australian fy-in/fy-out employees and partners
Anne M. Sibbel
Edith Cowan University
Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses
Part of the Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons
Recommended Citation
Sibbel, A. M. (2010). Living FIFO: the experiences and psychosocial wellbeing of Western Australian fy-in/
fy-out employees and partners. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/132
This Thesis is posted at Research Online.
https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/132
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Living FIFO:
The Experiences and Psychosocial Wellbeing of Western Australian
Fly-in/fly-out Employees and Partners

Anne M. Sibbel
Bachelor of Arts (Psychology, First Class Honours)
Diploma of Teaching (Primary)
A Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of
Doctor of Philosophy
at the Faculty of Computing, Health and Science
Edith Cowan University
June 2010
USE OF THESIS

The Use of Thesis statement is not included in this version of the thesis.
iii
Abstract
Using a concurrent multi-methods design employing both quantitative and
qualitative methodologies this study investigated the psychosocial wellbeing Western
Australian fly-in/fly-out (FIFO) mining employees and their partners. The quantitative
phase of the study assessed the psychological wellbeing, relationship satisfaction and
perceptions of family function of 90 FIFO mining employees and 32 partners of FIFO
employees using the General Health Questionnaire 12, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale
and the Family Assessment Device. Analyses revealed that both FIFO employees and
their partners are within the norms for healthy functioning on the scales and sub-scales
of the measures of psychological wellbeing, relationship satisfaction and perceptions of
family function, and that there were no statistically significant differences between the
scores of the two groups on any of these measures. Further, there were no significant
differences when data were analysed according to family type or profile of absence.
Thus, despite perceptions that regular FIFO employment related absence would have
adverse impacts on various aspects of wellbeing, the group of FIFO employees and
partners in this study report similar levels of psychological wellbeing, relationship
satisfaction and perceptions of family function to those of the general Australian
population.
The qualitative phase used constructivist grounded theory methodology to
explore the experiences of FIFO employees and partners of FIFO employees in order to
develop an understanding and theoretical scheme of the role of contextual factors in
their adaptation to the FIFO lifestyle. In-depth interviews were conducted with a
medium sized sample of 16 FIFO employees and 12 partners of FIFO employees. The
findings from the qualitative phase are discussed in light of existing literature and the
findings from the quantitative phase.
The data revealed a number of individual, family, community and workplace
factors that impact on individual experiences of and adaptation to the FIFO lifestyle.
Informants generally made purposeful and informed choices to undertake FIFO
employment based on the notion that “the benefits outweigh the costs”, that the lifestyle
associated with FIFO employment would considerably increase individual and family
access to financial and psychosocial resources, and that the net gains in personal and
family resources would outweigh any losses. These findings challenge earlier
presumptions that the regular absences associated with FIFO employment would result
in a loss of individual and family resources and would impact negatively on the
iv
psychosocial wellbeing of FIFO employees and their partners. The strengths and
limitations of the study are outlined as are suggestions for future research. Implications
of the findings at the individual, community, corporate and government levels are
presented together with recommendations for future actions.
v
Declaration

I certify that this thesis does not, to the best of my knowledge and belief:
(i) Incorporate without acknowledgement any material previously submitted
for a degree or diploma in any institution of higher education;
(ii) Contain any material previously published or written by another person
except where due reference is made in the text of this thesis; or
(iii) Contain any defamatory material.
(iv) Contain any data that has not been collected in a manner consistent with
ethics approval.

Signature
Date June 2010
vi
Acknowledgements
I take this opportunity to acknowledge the very generous assistance and support given
to me by many people throughout the long journey and without whom this thesis would
not have been completed. Although much of this PhD was spent in front of a computer
thinking, analysing and writing, it is the people who made the process achievable and in
the end truly worthwhile.

My grateful thanks are extended to those fly-in/fly-out mining personnel and their
partners who willingly participated in this study; your generosity in sharing your
experiences and insights made this study possible. Thank you also to those mining
companies who allowed me to approach their employees to be part of the project. I trust
the shared experiences have been delivered meaningfully and with understanding.

I also thank my supervisors Dr Elizabeth Kaczmarek and Dr Paul Chang who willingly
shared their expertise and knowledge throughout the research process. Elizabeth, in
particular I want to thank you for your unfailing encouragement, support and advice.
Our in-depth discussions have made this an extremely rewarding experience. Thank you
Paul, for your careful reading and thoughtful comments and feedback of the project.

To my special friend and colleague Diane Broderick, thank you for being there, for
encouraging me and having faith in me.

My thanks also go to my colleagues in the field of community psychology. Being part
of a group which has its roots in social justice is inspiring and I value having had the
opportunity to work with you all. We have chosen to work in a discipline of psychology
that has much to contribute to ensuring the wellbeing of our communities, however
community psychology is not widely recognised or understood in society and is thus
underused and under-resourced. Our challenge is to make opportunities to share who we
are and what we do.

And finally thank you to my wonderful family, Kate, Jocasta and Nicholas, their
partners and children who unfailingly supported and put up with me throughout this
process. In particular, to my ever patient, loving and supportive husband Frank, you
have been so generous with your wide experience and knowledge of mining. You have
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shared with me the high times and sustained me through the low times that are
inevitably part of undertaking such a project as this. Thank you.
viii
Table of Contents

Living FIFO: The Experiences and Psychosocial Wellbeing of Western Australian
Fly-in/fly-out Employees and Partners .......................................................................... i
Abstract ........................................................................................................................... iii
Declaration ....................................................................................................................... v
Signature .......................................................................................................................... v
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ vi
Chapter 1 ......................................................................................................................... 1
Setting the Context .......................................................................................................... 1
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 2
FIFO Work Practices .................................................................................................... 6
FIFO: The practice .................................................................................................... 9
Significance of this Study ........................................................................................... 11
Personal Motivation for the Study .............................................................................. 13
Community Psychology .............................................................................................. 15
Contribution of study to community psychology ................................................... 15
Structure of the Thesis ................................................................................................ 16
Chapter 2 ....................................................................................................................... 18
Work Life, Home Life and Wellbeing ......................................................................... 18
Introduction ................................................................................................................. 19
The Interface Between Work Life and Home Life ..................................................... 21
Work-family interference processes ....................................................................... 21
Work-family interference antecedents .................................................................... 23
Work-family interference consequences ................................................................. 24
Work-family facilitation ......................................................................................... 26
Family and relationship crossover effects ............................................................... 28
The role of moderating variables ............................................................................ 29
Alternate Approaches .................................................................................................. 30
Systems levels approaches ...................................................................................... 31
The role of resources ............................................................................................... 34
Implications of Work-Family Interference and Facilitation for FIFO Employees and
Families ....................................................................................................................... 37