Report finds Alberta’s ‘fly-in, fly-out’ oilsands workers face significant stress, reluctant to seek help

A new report looking at the mental health and well-being of “fly-in, fly-out” (FIFO) workers employed in Alberta’s oilsands suggests extra must be executed to assist staff take care of vital stress that comes from dwelling in work camps.

“The report I believe in some ways solidifies issues that folks anecdotally know already in regards to the impacts of fly-in, fly-out work on employees’ psychological well being and well-being,” stated Sara Dorow, a sociologist on the College of Alberta who co-authored the report. “I might say that if something stunned us it was a few of the diploma to which a few of these points had been affecting employees.

“We all know already that being away from dwelling and household is troublesome… What we didn’t anticipate maybe is the diploma to which individuals report that being an issue.”

The report noticed 72 oilsands employees be interviewed in late 2019 and early 2020 earlier than follow-up interviews had been performed a number of months later. Most of these interviewed had been employees who arrive from different locations in Alberta and
throughout Canada “for rotations of six to 21 days, dwelling in work camps whereas working 10- or 12-hour shifts at close by worksites,” in accordance with the report.

READ MORE: Inside the oilsands site that has seen Canada’s largest workplace COVID-19 outbreak 

The research discovered 87 per of individuals reported both some or numerous stress from being far-off from family members.

“The problem of creating and sustaining relationships with household, emotions of loneliness and the shortcoming to be at dwelling for household occasions or emergencies are vital stressors amongst FIFO employees,” the report reads.

Seventy-seven per cent of the research’s individuals reported both some or numerous stress from dwelling in work camps, both as a result of they felt trapped, had restricted or unhealthy meals choices, poor sleep or different causes.

Over two-thirds of individuals reported stress from their commute to work.

“Contributors’ scores of common psychological well being and each day stress are worse than is discovered within the inhabitants,” the report reads. “About half rated their psychological well being as excellent or wonderful (46%) or rated most days as considerably or very anxious (51%).

“Practically half (46%) of survey individuals had identified long-term well being circumstances, with half of those (51%) describing their circumstances as psychological or each psychological and bodily. These proportions are greater than is reported within the common inhabitants.

“A couple of-third of individuals (35%) had sought assist for his or her psychological well being (counselling, medicine, and/or data) prior to now 12 months — twice as excessive as reported within the common inhabitants. Essentially the most frequent causes cited for looking for assist had been household and relationship points, anxiousness, despair, trauma, and common psychological well being.”

Whereas over three-quarters of the research’s individuals stated that they had entry to health-care providers whereas at work or in camp, over half of these folks “indicated they’d not use these providers; this was very true for
well being care provided on web site, the place 57 per cent of individuals with entry to those providers indicated they had been ‘not going’ to make use of them.”

“Individuals had been actually involved about shedding a job or preserving a job in the event that they had been to report a severe well being subject,” Dorow stated. “That is exacerbated by the very fact we had numerous contract employees within the research.

“That is of grave concern… We do know that within the development trades for instance, there’s a greater fee of suicide. And so really ensuring that there’s a house for folks to… report psychological well being points is absolutely essential.”

READ MORE: Alberta documentary sheds light on men in the oilpatch and suicides 

Dorow stated some individuals feared there can be repercussions for looking for psychological help like injury to their fame or being extra more likely to be laid off or not rehired.

“There might be sort of a troublesome man factor: ‘You simply should robust it out,’” she stated. “That is deepened by fly-in, fly-out.”

Dorow stated the work is just a method to generate income for a lot of staff and that there’s a tradition that pushes employees to simply accept the stress as merely a part of the job.

“To say that this isn’t for the weak-minded is clearly an issue within the sense that there could also be circumstances which might be being ignored,” she stated.

Sexual harassment and discrimination

The report says over two-thirds of feminine individuals reported experiencing discrimination at work.

“A number of the gendered findings are actually essential,” Dorow stated. “I used to be stunned by what number of girls reported discrimination and harassment… But additionally the impacts of fly-in, fly-out on girls… There was a a lot greater proportion of girls who reported issue sleeping in camp.”

Dorow, who stated she has been conducting analysis within the oilsands on and off for about 15 years, stated she believes a few of the points highlighted within the report could possibly be addressed comparatively merely, like making certain partitions are thick sufficient that somebody at a piece camp can’t hear loud night breathing within the room subsequent to them, or making certain wholesome meals selections are made obtainable.

“We additionally present in our report some proof of cumulative results of the longer you do that, the extra there may be cumulative results of labor/life imbalance and stress and pressure,” she stated. “It actually must be checked out systematically.”

Dorow stated making certain employees really feel snug accessing psychological well being helps is a key subject.

“How will we create a supportive atmosphere…the place psychosocial security is entrance and centre… So folks really feel like they’ll come ahead if they’ve points and may get secure third-party assist once they want it.”

Dorow stated the research was “not as systematic as we’d have hoped,” and he or she hopes extra analysis is finished on the topic to spur governments, corporations and employees to work collectively to handle the problems at hand.