In this episode of The Safety Meeting, Dr. Seth Hickerson, founder of My Steady Mind, discusses the critical link between psychological safety, mental fitness, and workplace safety. Dr. Hickerson shares his expertise from high-risk industries, explaining how environments characterized by volatility, uncertainty, change, and ambiguity (VUCA) need both physical safety measures, and proactive mental health strategies. He explains how distraction, stress, and burnout can lead to safety incidents, and why organizations must move beyond reactive solutions to integrate mental fitness training into their jobsite culture.

• (00:00) Welcome Dr. Seth Hickerson
• (00:58) Defining psychological safety and its impact on workplace performance
• (02:07) The VUCA environment: what it means and why it matters
• (05:47) How mental health challenges contribute to workplace incidents
• (07:40) The difference between proactive training and reactive treatment
• (10:00) Why leadership buy-in is essential for culture change
• (11:04) Making mental health training engaging: “hide the medicine in the cheese”
• (13:10) Supporting employees facing mental health challenges
• (16:12) Using assessments to identify soft skills gaps in organizations
• (19:10) Creating a shared language for stress management
• (22:22) The four steps of emotional intelligence
• (27:55) Final thoughts and practical takeaways for listeners

Thanks for joining another episode of The Safety Meeting, the podcast that makes you smarter about current trends and best practices in workforce safety. From employee engagement to actionable data, and everything in between, tune in to hear how you can work more safely.

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Podcast episode production by Dante32.