The worldwide lockdown has resulted in a major shift from on-premise work by overhead staff to working from home, which holds both advantages, but also certain risks, writes Dr Nicolaas C Steenkamp.
There have been concerns raised in recent months around the mental health impact that working from home staff are experiencing. Image credit: Pexels. Tima Miroshnichenko
The lockdown initially forced all non-essential staff from mining operations to start working from home as an interim measure. There is however nothing more permanent than a temporary solution, it would appear. An increasing number of mining companies have now moved toward allowing, encouraging, and supporting the overhead staff to permanently work from home. This ranges from most of the administrative staff, human resources, payroll, and project support services to client care.
The advantages range from the initial intention to limit potential spread of Covid-19 in confined offices space, to now realising that most head offices, and even regional offices, can now decrease the floor space being rented, and reduce overhead costs related to having an on-premise staff component.
On a work-life-balance, the staff have experienced the benefits of avoiding traffic, saving both time and money and limiting risk to exposure. Staff have also reported feeling calmer and more focused and are able to work more productive hours. The online meeting platforms have also enabled more cross-company discussions and availability to meet with more customers and clients during the same period, relative to face-to-face meetings. On the home front, it has enabled staff to work and handle home responsibilities in a more flexible manner.
There have, however, been a number of studies, by companies that supply VPN (Virtual Private Network) services, that have noted that working from home staff tend to log in earlier in the mornings and remain connected after the traditional close of business day hours. There have been concerns raised in recent months around the mental health impact that working from home staff are experiencing. This ranges from a demand of being available and connected all day every day, to virtual meeting fatigue. The lack of social interaction and change of scenery has also been challenging for some workers.
The question is also: how long can remote work remain sustainable in the mining sector, specifically for the office overhead work-related functions? At some point these companies will encounter the diminished returns. This is an inevitable result of natural attrition of staff over time, retirement, or resignations. The lack of interaction results in a decrease of company domain knowledge, where there is expected to be increase in the silo of information and knowledge. The inability to transfer and communicate certain domain knowledge, by normal day-to-day interaction and job shadowing also increases the risk of institutional knowledge loss.
The majority of companies have process and procedures set up, such as Wiki pages and official documentation, but inherently not all information, nuances or decision-making trees can be effectively captured into such mechanisms. This in turn is not without the risk of it becoming too cumbersome to maintain. Further it hampers the informal exchange of information that occurs naturally in the normal office interaction setting. It also poses more challenges when on-boarding new staff that lacks the opportunity to receive on the job guidance while settling into their new positions.
Automation has made it possible to make some positions redundant, but a recently published study indicated that particularly lower skilled staff, which form the bulk of employees at most mining operations, prefer to have in-person conversations and interaction when dealing or trying to understand their needs or questions. Automation is also reducing the staffing component, which in developing countries, is a deadly blow to the livelihoods of many families dependent on the income.
The large number of resignations in the last half of 2021, resulted in the term ‘Great Resignation’ being coined. A wave of large-scale resignations hit especially the United States, but the trend has been noticed in other parts of the World too, mainly in the developed nations. It has been suggested that the mass resignations were triggered by the extended working from home (WFH) periods from 2020 till present. This allowed persons, especially professionals to re-evaluate their current positions, the nature of their jobs, the upside of flexible hours and the potential to broaden their horizons or to start working for international companies abroad and increasing their income potential.
The developing nations have not seen the same trend of mass resignations, but there has been a notable trend of the skilled professionals increasingly moving towards consultation jobs or engaging with companies abroad. The likelihood of emigration once travel restricts and bans are lifted, making relocation possible, is also a looming possibility.
This situation is not unfamiliar to South Africa, during the late 1990s until the early 2000s the country experienced what became known as the ‘Brain Drain’. Highly skilled professionals started looking for opportunities abroad and emigrated in large numbers. Most of these professionals are now mid-career and highly sought after.
One of the main drivers for the recruitment of South African mining professionals is their experience in more challenging conditions. As more easily accessible deposits become depleted, the need to develop deeper and more complex deposits becomes more urgent to meet the demand. The need for commodity diversity outside of the traditional supply countries, ranging from Rare Earth Elements (REE) to energy storage minerals like lithium and vanadium and electronics such as copper and tin has been the catalyst for fast tracking projects in the last year. The demands generated by the two successive commodity crunches, may also have acted at the start of a new commodity super cycle, where the first to market is set to benefit the most.
The downside for South Africa extends beyond the loss of skilled professionals to the impact of having an ever-decreasing tax base. South Africa, like most other African countries has also been struggling to attract skilled labour and professionals to fill the void.
Only time will tell how permanent the ‘working remotely’ solution is, the sustainability of it and how it will affect the mining sector landscape.
About the author
Dr Nicolaas C Steenkamp is an independent consultant, specialising in geological, geotechnical and geometallurgical projects and mining project management. He has over two decades of industry experience with global exposure. ncs.contract@gmail.com
Image credit: NC Steenkamp
“Most head offices, and even regional offices, can now decrease the floor space being rented, and reduce overhead costs related to having an on-premise staff component. “