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May 2020

By Brie DeLisiHave the last few months felt like a rollercoaster? It is time for us to embrace the new normal, in which nothing is ‘normal’ anymore. This blog series will explore options for returning to the office (or not), what the new workplace might look like, and how to best prepare for what might be a long period of uncertainty. For the physical work environments, we’ll need to consider how to best structure the new office, or whether we want our workforce to return to an office setting at all. The key to approaching this process is to identify options

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By Madison Hanscom, Ph.D. During a time of uncertainty, many of us fall into unhealthy thought patterns. A recent study uncovered just how much Americans are struggling with mental health this year. Compared to 2018, those sampled in 2020 were eight times more likely to report indicators related to serious mental illness (1). A common tendency when dealing with stress is to ruminate on stressors. Will my loved ones get sick? When will the economy be back to normal? When will my children go back to school? What will happen to my career? These thoughts are normal, but they can stir

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By Josh Williams, Ph.D. People are increasingly distracted, tired, frustrated, and stressed out in dealing with COVID. This is particularly true with working or returning to work. It’s hard for people to stay focused on the job when they’re constantly reminded about rising death tolls and dropping stock markets. This has consequences for mental health but also physical safety. People are 60-80% more likely to be injured on the job when they are stressed out (according to the American Psychological Association). One tool to combat this is cognitive rebooting. Rebooting your thinking is like rebooting your computer when it doesn’t work. Clinical psychologists use this

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By Madison Hanscom, Ph.D. The current pandemic is shining a spotlight on mental health. Individuals are experiencing extreme mental distress and uncertainty — demonstrating a need for greater attention to this topic [1]. There have also been concerns that the new realities of this time, such as social isolation and loneliness, are creating a troublesome environment for many individuals because these are risk factors linked with suicide and substance abuse [2]. Mental Health Difficulties in Different Industries Another part of the conversation should be industry. People spend about a third of their day on average working; this time adds up quickly [3]. Industry

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By Josh Williams, Ph.D. and Madison Hanscom, Ph.D. Leaders are looking for direction to manage employees during COVID re-entry. Leaders need to juggle business realities, employees’ physical safety, and emerging mental health struggles that people are facing. Our leadership competency model is a useful framework to guide leadership behaviors as we begin getting back to work.  Five leadership competencies Safety leadership competencies represent the knowledge, skills, and abilities that contribute to increased discretionary effort and improved organizational safety culture. Anchored in years of research and experience, our team has identified five core competencies to optimize safety culture: Actively Care, Walk the Talk, Build/Live the Vision, Recognize Often/Foster

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By Josh Williams, Ph.D. In Part 1 of this blog series, we addressed leadership guidelines for safely returning to work during COVID-19. This included specific actions like setting up entry stations, physical distancing guidelines, emergency response preparations, and cleaning/disinfecting plans. In Part 2, we’ll cover leadership “soft skills” to support employees returning to work and those working from home offices. The manner in which leaders show caring and compassion now will pay dividends in the future well after the COVID crisis is over. Here are some key reminders for leaders in checklist form:   Leadership Checklist Please take elements of this checklist and create your own. Also,

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