*2.1. Participants*

A sample of 897 employees from an Australian mining company were recruited to participate in the study. Participants were aged between 17 and 73 years. Consistent with the organizations workforce characteristics, the majority of participants (74%) were male. It was not possible to calculate a response rate due to the recruitment process, however the mining organisation confirmed that the sample was representative of the workforce demographic characteristics. Furthermore, variance in survey responses indicated that participants included a range of employees. Participant employment characteristics are detailed in Table 1. Reported percentages exclude missing data and are, therefore, calculated from different sample sizes as a few participants chose not to report some of their demographic and work information.

Of the 893 employees who responded to the stress item (*n* = 4 were missing data), 375 employees reported experiencing stress while at work 'some of the time' to 'all of the time' (refer Table 2). The majority of these stressed employees reported that they were not ready to adopt stress management practices, with 34.0% (*n* = 106) in the pre-contemplation stage and 22.8% (*n* = 71) in the contemplation stage. Of the stressed employees who were ready to adopt stress management behaviours, 6.4% (*n* = 20)

were in the preparation stage, 27.2% (*n* = 85) in the action stage. The remaining 9.6% (*n* = 30) were in the maintenance stage, reporting that they were attempting to continue managing their stress. The sample of stressed employees was analysed to identify employee characteristics and stress management stages of change associated with (a) high productivity impairment costs and (b) desire for assistance with stress management.


**Table 1.** Participant employment characteristics.

Notes. *n* = 897; FIFO/DIDO = Fly-in, Fly-out/Drive-in, Drive-out.

**Table 2.** Group differences on work impairment percentage and annual productivity cost per person.


Notes. *n* = 375; FIFO/DIDO = Fly-in, Fly-out/Drive-in, Drive-out; Differences in group sample size (*n*) is due to missing data on employee characteristics.
