Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of psychological distress in employees in the metalliferous mining industry in Australia, and to examine associated demographic, health, and workplace characteristics. A cross sectional survey was conducted among 1,799 participants from four metalliferous mines. Psychological distress was measured by the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), alongside other measures of personal demographics, health history, health behaviour, and workplace characteristics. Univariate and multivariate statistical methods were used to examine associations between psychological distress and personal and workplace characteristics. Levels of moderate to very high psychological distress were significantly higher in this sample (44.4%) compared to the general population (27.2%). Moderate to very high psychological distress was significantly associated with younger age; individual health factors (a prior history of depression, anxiety, or drug/alcohol problems); health behaviours (using illicit drugs in the last month); and a range of workplace factors (concern about losing their job; lower satisfaction with work; working shifts of over 12 hours duration; working in mining for financial reasons and social factors (poorer social networks). The identification of a number of social, personal and workplace factors associated with high psychological distress present useful targets to inform the development of tailored workplace interventions to reduce distress in metalliferous mine employees.
Highlights
It is estimated that mental disorders, affect up to 1 in 3 people world-wide across their lifetime [1], with the majority of cases occurring in adults of working age [2]
The economic and productivity impacts of untreated mental illness and mental ill-health can be substantial for industry with higher absenteeism, presenteeism, and higher injury rates in those with mental health problems frequently reported [4,5,6,7,8]
The results of this study show that employees in the metalliferous mining industry report moderate to very high levels of psychological distress at higher levels when compared to a gender and age weighted sample of employed Australians (44.4% compared to 27.2% respectively) [22]
Summary
It is estimated that mental disorders (including mood, anxiety and substance use disorders), affect up to 1 in 3 people world-wide across their lifetime [1], with the majority of cases occurring in adults of working age [2]. The gap in life expectancy between people with a mental illness and the general population is between 12 and 16 years, with 80% of this attributable to comorbid chronic diseases, many of which are preventable [3]. Is this a humanitarian issue, but this presents a problem for the workplace as most adults spend a third or more of their waking hours at work. Workplace mental health interventions have been shown to provide an economic return on investment for industry [13,14,15]. Identification of factors contributing to suicide in construction workers has resulted in successful industry investment into a suicide prevention program [18], with resulting economic benefit of $4.60 for every $1 invested [19]
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