OPINION: The impact on those who keep the home fires burning is often neglected in conversations around the FIFO lifestyle.
Public holidays have a way of exposing any absences in family life. I know this because I’ve lived the past few years as a fly-in, fly-out wife.
The reality wasn’t what I expected.
Just as I was stepping out of the fast lane of corporate life, my husband stepped into a role on the other side of the world on a four-two roster: four weeks away, two weeks at home.
It wasn’t the first time one of us was away for work, but it was the first time our lives were governed by a formal roster.
Having worked adjacent to the mining and resources sector for decades, and knowing many families with a FIFO worker, I assumed I understood what was ahead. I imagined I would fill my days while he was away and it would be party time when he returned.
It was far more nuanced than that.
His work was stimulating; the most complex and rewarding project of his career. Meanwhile, our nightly phone calls were punctuated by dropped signals and mundane updates from home. We both counted the days until he flew back.
He arrived after a series of flights and stopovers, jetlagged and weary from operating in a country where language, customs and daily navigation require constant effort. Where I was pent up, he was worn down.
After a fitful night’s sleep, we each had lists: mine of things to do and things that needed doing; his of ‘life’s trivia’ – haircuts, doctors, dentists – plus time with family, friends and a few rounds of golf. Time at leisure went too quickly.
In his final days at home, we shifted into preparation mode: packing, organising and assembling the food and comforts that made the next swing more bearable.
During his years away, our daughter married and had two children. He was home for two of those milestones but didn’t meet our granddaughter until she was nine days old, coming straight from the airport to hold her for the first time.
There was also illness, which led to distraught middle of the night phone calls that served to remind us how far away he was. And while our experience was unique in its details, the pattern is familiar to many FIFO families.
Research has shown that FIFO workers experience significantly higher levels of psychological distress than the general population; a reminder that the pressures of this lifestyle run deep.
Western Australia’s resources sector depends on this model. More than 134,000 people work on mine sites across the state, most on FIFO rosters, and the ripple effects extend well beyond the individual worker.
My point is not to criticise the practice itself but to acknowledge the human architecture that makes it possible: the partners, families and support networks.
Also unrecognised is the uncertainty built into FIFO life. Flights can be delayed. Weather can close in. Operational needs can shift with little notice. With talk of rosters extending due to current world events, the strain will naturally compound.
Whatever the challenge, the resilience of FIFO families is remarkable. They become experts at creating connective moments that bridge the distance. They build routines that hold the household steady when the roster pulls it apart because they have learned to stretch, adapt and recalibrate, often without fanfare.
Given my lived experience, I think it’s worth widening the conversation about FIFO life. Not to romanticise it, and not to criticise it, but to recognise its complexity.
To understand that the glossy version of high incomes and adventure is only part of the story. The other part is the invisible labour carried by families, the emotional load of absence and the constant negotiation between work and home.
FIFO work is essential to Australia’s prosperity. But so too are the families and supporters who make it possible. Acknowledging their experience doesn’t diminish the industry; it strengthens it by reminding us that behind every roster is a household and community adjusting, supporting and holding things together.
During long weekends, there is elation if the rostered family member is home and a marked absence if they are not. Regardless, FIFO families continue their resilient rhythms along with the quiet work that keeps everything running at home.
• Marion Fulker is an executive coach and the WA state chair of Smartgroup
