Taking a more novel approach to mental health in mining Anton Guinea, The Guinea Group of Companies
A Photo: Turnbull Photography
With the state of mental health in mining only lately being recognised as an issue, leaders are now required to lean into caring for the teams, not just the tonnes.
88
BBMC Yearbook 2022
lthough the mining industry has made significant progress in the last decade or more in relation to caring for the humans on mine sites, there is still a way to go. And by ‘caring’, I mean it is not just about sending miners home in one piece, it is about building psychologically safe workplaces, where miners feel like their leaders listen, connect, and care. But what happens when leaders (or mining organisations in general) don’t have the ability to listen, connect and care? The emotional state of miners suffers. And as much as it is acknowledged that it is not just a lack of psychologically safe leadership that impacts the mental health of our miners, that is the place to start. Leadership – caring for teams, not just tonnes Leadership has changed so much since I was a young tradesperson working on a remote iron ore mine site in outback WA. In May 1994 (yes, I can still remember my first day on a mine site), the senior supervisor was so disappointed that I had been hired by the company. Yes, I was straight out of my apprenticeship, and yes, he was right when he shared with me how he really felt.