Managing liminal time in the fly-in fly-out work camp

Area of Science:

• Organizational Studies
• Sociology of Work
• Mobility Studies

Background:

• Fly-in fly-out (FIFO) work camps are central to resource extraction industries, managing rotational workers.
• These camps create a unique environment of 'permanent liminality,' situated between work and life.
• The temporal aspects of FIFO work and their impact on workers remain under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how FIFO workers experience and respond to the temporal challenges of work camp life.
• To analyze the strategies workers employ to cope with time-disorientation, monotony, and entrapment.
• To understand the role of worker "competent liminars" in the FIFO mobility regime.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative fieldwork conducted in Canada's Athabasca Oil Sands.
• Analysis of workers' lived experiences within the FIFO work camp context.
• Examination of temporal tactics used by workers to navigate camp routines and external temporalities.

Main Results:

• FIFO workers experience significant time-disorientation, monotony, and a sense of entrapment in work camps.
• Workers develop diverse temporal tactics, including embracing, disrupting, aligning, and syncing with routines and external time.
• These tactics enable workers to become "competent liminars" of camp time, crucial for the regime's disciplining function.

Conclusions:

• FIFO work camps impose a distinct temporal regime that significantly impacts workers' lives.
• Workers' adaptive temporal strategies are essential for managing the psychological and social effects of camp life.
• Understanding temporal mediation in liminal spaces is vital for organizations harnessing social time for productivity.