Resilience and Mental Health in Mining

Description of impact *

MQBS’ Health and Wellbeing Research Unit (HoWRU) received funding from ACARP for its Resilience and Mental Health in Mining project (RMHM) to investigate the work-related factors contributing to the resilience of coal mining employees.

The HoWRU collaborated with large mining companies in 2020-21 to improve employee resilience and mental health support and our interim RMHM report was accepted by ACARP and by individual mining companies in2021. Consequently, leaders in Centennial Coal and Yancoal supported a follow-up application and ACARP awarded $476,000 (2022-2024) to develop and implement a resilience intervention.

WHEN

2020 – 2024 (ongoing)

WHO

MQBS Health and Wellbeing Research Unit (members attached to this application)

NATURE OF IMPACT

Australian coal mining employees have significantly greater psychological distress levels than non-mining employees. Our research identified unique stressors in the coal mining occupational environment, detrimental to mental health, and found a range of organisational and workplace factors that can build resilience in coal mining employees. This is the first study to investigate and identify these factors in the mining industry.

EXTENT OF IMPACT

Our tangible impact includes:

1. Engagement of large mining firms in research into mental health, raising their commitment to employee wellbeing;

2. Direction of substantial resources by mining firms to employee collaboration in resilience and mental health support;

3. Acceptance by mining firms of recommendations to develop tailored mental health intervention focusing on unique mining-related stressors and resilience supports; and

4. Securing funding for a mental health pilot project across the coal mining industry.