Overall the study found mining and construction were no worse off than other industries. In fact, hospitality was the worst of the bunch.
That runs against the public perception of mining and fly-in, fly-out work, and professor Mark Harris admitted he too was a little surprised by the findings.
“There is a danger when you look at raw numbers or anecdotal evidence that you can get conflicting results that disappear when you put them into more sophisticated approaches,” he said.
“I think that’s exactly what happened with the construction and mining industries.”
It is not a completely rosy picture for mining, however, with results outlining a potential rise in the misuse of pharmaceutical drugs such as tranquilisers, sleeping pills, steroids and other opiates.
Harris used data from 2001, 2004, 2007 and 2010 in his models, which showed a spike in the mining sector for 2010.
“If you were involved in the mining sector in 2010 you were some eight percentage points more likely to be using these drugs for non-medical purposes relative to the base year of 2001,” he said.
“The averages for people using this stuff was about 3.5%, so an eight percentage point increase over 10-odd years is actually quite a large effect.”
With only four data points it is too early to say whether that trend is definitely rising.
More data would be needed to make a definitive call, but Harris said any abuse was cause for concern.
He said the drugs could affect productivity and safety, but also impacted areas beyond work.
“The impacts are being felt on individuals, their families and the wider community,” he said.
In assessing a number of different workplaces, the new study confirmed that particular pressures and norms can contribute to drug misuse.
The issue is part of a wider trend in society, and stems in part from an increased availability of pharmaceutical drugs and the perception they are safe.
“Monitoring the consumption of legally-available drugs is difficult to carry out and exacerbating the situation is the growing availability of drugs online,” Harris said.
“Measures such as educational programs and workplace testing procedures may serve as an incentive against engaging in drug misuse.”
