MENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY PERFORMANCE

Published: July 2, 2018

LET'S LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER, STOP AND LISTEN. 

MENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY PERFORMANCE 

With the rise of workplace violence incidents, school shootings and the like, there’s a lot of talk about mental health these days. However, it’s still taboo to talk about it and people who must exist with mental illnesses still find it difficult to step out of the shadows to get help. So, let me preface this blog posting by saying, I am bipolar. More specifically, I was diagnosed with type 2 bipolar disorder about 13 years ago. When you’re diagnosed with other illnesses you don’t tend to say “I am cancer” or “I am diabetes” but there’s a certain level of acceptance that you must come to when dealing with mental illness.

Knowing that who I am is someone dictated by my mental illness allows me to understand that when I’m in a manic state my most innovative ideas come to me, my drive increases beyond that of regular people to achieve greatness, and my creativity explodes, I embrace my bipolar disorder. On the flip side, a depression state has left me almost catatonic in my home for days eating nothing but delivered pizza, lots of Velveeta shells, and not answering the phone. Luckily, after multiple medication trial and errors, I finally found one that has kept me from swinging too far one way or the other. And let me tell you, the struggle to find the right medication and dosage is a journey in itself.

So why bring this up in a safety blog? It’s because safety is more than labelling a chemical correctly, engineering machine guards, understanding critical lift calculations etc. Safety is about people. Understanding human factors (how humans interact with a system) and psychology play a monumental role in safety. An individual under vast amounts of personal stress is more likely to make mistakes or be unmotivated to follow procedure. Someone fighting medication fatigue shouldn’t be operating heavy equipment or placed in other safety sensitive roles.

What do can we do about it as safety professionals? First, learn your team. Develop relationships with the people you’re protecting so you can recognize uncharacteristic behavior. Ask questions and show sincere care for their wellbeing. A simple “how’s life going?” can go a long way. Break down organizational silos between your safety team, human resources, production-level supervisors, and upper management to ensure that they’re able to recognize behavioral changes as well. Help your HR team develop resources for employees such as employee assistance programs, open door free to speak candidly policies, and create a supportive environment where mental illness and stress aren’t taboo.

Evidence suggests that psycho-social factors influence the outcome of physical therapy outcomes and psycho-social education prevented low back pain episodes regardless of the type of exercise assigned. Providing leadership through empathy and social support has also shown to reduce occupational injuries. And from personal experience, coming to terms with your internal struggles and having people to talk to about them improves decision making abilities. Improving decision making abilities is what we’re trying to do in every safety training class, toolbox talk, and observation interaction as safety professionals every day.

Author: Kenny Young CSP, ARM, AINS,CEAS