From mining and engineering to tech and media, can employers in fast-changing industries grappling with both global and local challenges really function as family friendly workplaces? 

 

In a special podcast series produced by Family Friendly Workplaces and Women’s Agenda, we will step into different sectors in Australia to spotlight the challenges working parents face while also speaking to employers carving out new ways of working. 

 

These employers are helping to design a blueprint for workplaces that will enable more workers to thrive no matter what their caring responsibilities are at home. 

 

In this week’s episode, Women’s Agenda founding editor Angela Priestley takes a closer look at the mining and energy industry. 

 

Horror stories around sexual harassment, bullying and misconduct have emerged from the sector in recent years, even prompting a government inquiry in Western Australia. 

 

At the same time, the industry is grappling with talent shortages, with its male-dominated teams scattered out to some of the most remote parts of the country and many working in fly-in-fly-out roles. 

 

Close to 80 per cent of the mining workforce is men.

 

At any one time, Australia can have as many as 100,000 FIFO workers on the job – and many of them are parents or have relatives to care for. 

 

As employers navigate these conditions, some have been exploring unique approaches to become more family friendly for their staff.

 

Tim Power is the HR manager for renewable energy company RWE’s Australian workforce.

 

He says they’ve seen positive impacts after offering workers a range of benefits to support them in balancing their careers with family responsibilities. 

 

This includes parent-child officers, in-house day nurseries on some sites, part-time working options, hybrid arrangements and flexible hours. 

 

Workers are also offered parental leave coaching and up to 26 weeks of paid parental leave for all new parents, regardless of gender. 

 

“It’s about building an action plan which is continuing the focus and making sure that you are, as an organisation, not sitting dormant or resting on your laurels; you’re continually doing a part to push flexible working and family-friendly environments further.

 

“We’re not by any means feeling that we’re missing out on productivity as a result of flexibility. We think that we’ve evolved in a way that allows people to structure their work around life.

 

“That’s important to our identity and key for us as an agile, nimble organisation that wants to be sustainable and grow here in Australia.”

 

In recent years, Tara Diamond from the Australian Resources and Energy Employers Association says there have been some big shifts in the sector like the change in rosters offering people to take more time off every few weeks. 

 

“So people are two [weeks] on, two off, two, on, four off,” she says.

 

“There’s been really dramatic changes to make FIFO far easier and equitable for families, because that’s what it came down to: people do not want to be away from their families for long stretches of time and then only be home for a short period of time.”

 

“So even eight and six has become much more prevalent.”

 

“But what I would kind of caution is that it’s not just a normal … most of us would do five and two or four and three, but we do standard business hours. [In mining and energy] we’re talking 12-hour shifts often in very, very hot and very difficult conditions.”

 

“When those people [come] back home, it’s often really hard integrating.”

 

Diamond says the industry can change with more women at the helm and it will also take more widespread policy changes by employers to set new standards and expectations. 

 

Currently, no mining company is certified as family-friendly by FFW, but the organisation’s founder Emma Walsh is hopeful this may change. 

 

Former FIFO worker and founder of the FIFO Family Project Vicy Pellow says for many workers starting out in the sector, it can be very difficult navigating how to get the balance right between jobs that take them far away from home and caring for their loved ones. 

 

She says there is often a lack of support, resources and education around how to successfully manage FIFO careers with family in a sustainable way. 

 

She says this can create a “perfect storm” for some families with one parent gone for periods at a time and the other left behind with limited support.

 

So while the salaries are high, working parents have to factor in expensive childcare and hire  nannies or an au pair to function. 

 

“There are so many barriers that come with the FIFO lifestyle which are tricky to overcome, not impossible, but they are a challenge,” she says.

 

Our guests in this episode go deeper into these issues while exploring some of the exciting changes being made to address them and what more needs to be done. 

 

 

 

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