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Positive Humour and Wellbeing in Mining

Humour plays an important role in building connection, resilience, and wellbeing in the workplace. This MARS Centre study explored the relationship between positive humour, team belongingness, and wellbeing among FIFO mine site workers and corporate office staff. The study found that positive humour - the type of humour that uplifts, includes, and strengthens bonds – was associated with stronger team belongingness and better mental health outcomes. Encouraging humour in daily work is a simple, low-cost way to build resilience, reduce stress, and foster a safer, more supportive culture. Findings revealed that:

  • Positive humour and banter were strongly linked to higher wellbeing and stronger team belongingness across both FIFO mine sites and corporate offices.
  • Stress levels and workloads differed significantly between corporate office staff (higher stress and demands) and site-based workers, suggesting wellbeing initiatives must be tailored to context.
  • Client employees reported lower wellbeing than business partner employees, indicating areas where culture and support may need strengthening.

Practical recommendations for mining organisations include:

  • Leveraging positive humour as a low-cost, culturally embedded strategy to improve wellbeing, team cohesion, and psychosocial safety.
  • Reinforcing and maintaining high levels of humour and belongingness already present in mining teams, particularly in remote and high-pressure environments.
  • Developing targeted wellbeing initiatives for corporate staff, whose stress and workload demands were higher than FIFO site-based employees.
  • Addressing wellbeing gaps for client employees through leadership action, policy review, and strengthened team culture initiatives.


Read the full report here.

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