Health behaviours and affective states of partners of fly-in fly-out workers: A daily diary study

Abstract

Partners of fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers face increases in demands, for instance in care and family responsibilities, particularly in the absence of workers; however, little is known about how their daily life experiences influence their health across the FIFO work cycle. This study examined the within-person effects of workload, job control and social support on affective states and health behaviours of partners of FIFO workers. Forty-four (N = 44) partners of FIFO workers completed online diary surveys on affective states and health behaviours once a day for 28 consecutive days during on-and off-shift periods of the FIFO worker. Multilevel models were used to analyse day-level data. The results of the study demonstrated significant differences in partners' depressed affect and alcohol consumption during both on- and off-shift periods of FIFO workers. Daily increases in workload were associated with anxious affect, whereas daily increases in job control and social support were associated with low depressed affect and positive affect in partners of FIFO workers. Daily increase in social support was also found to be associated with an increase in daily alcohol intake. Interventions could support partners in managing the daily workload and encouraging the creation of social support networks in partners of FIFO workers.