Mindfulness: The Missing Link to Health and Safety

Introduction/Background

NOTE: This blog is based on the "Mindfulness: The Missing Link to Health and Safety" presentation I gave at the 2018 National Canadian Society of Safety Engineering conference in Niagara Falls. That presentation was expanded into a half-day workshop for the Southeast CSSE Alberta Chapter during 2019 NAOSH Week. However, I also have updated this blog to include new pertinent information about mindfulness and health and safety.

You might be wondering what mindfulness has to do with health and safety. That is fair! It may seem like safety is what you do at work, and mindfulness might be something you do at home. However, even before COVID, the line between our personal and professional lives is blurry at best. In fact, there probably is not even a line anymore! The reality is health and safety is something we should be practicing both at home and work, and the same goes for mindfulness. In this blog, I will explore how mindfulness can help improve workers' well-being, mental health, and focus, thereby preventing injuries. Click here for another article on this topic.

If you know me, you know that I have been a safety professional for over 15 years. I have led teams of safety professionals for multinational organizations, built and audited management systems, overseen contractor management programs and an assortment of other safety services. What you may not know is that I have also been teaching mindfulness and martial arts since 1997. Where did those 25 years go?! This gives me a unique skill set when it comes to Mindful Safety.

What Is Mindfulness Really?

Mindfulness is the awareness of the activities in the mind (thoughts) and body (sensations, emotions, etc.). This can also be expanded to include awareness of surroundings/work environment. And just to be clear, mindfulness and meditation are pretty much the same thing. Basically, they are two sides of the same coin.

Meditation typically involves a pre-determined focus such as the breath, sensation, or even an object coupled with specific postures and breathing sequences. Mindfulness can be defined as being aware of whatever is present in the moment. For example, if you are riding a bike and you place your focus on the sensation between your hands and the handlebar, this could be seen as a type of mindfulness. If one were to say mindfulness is a type of meditation, I probably would not argue.

Mindfulness is a billion-dollar industry and is practiced by Clint Eastwood, Hugh Jackman (The Wolverine), Lebron James, Oprah Winfrey, etc. Why do these busy, successful people spend the time to practice mindfulness or meditation? Because it works, and many attribute their personal and professional success to their practice. Did you know that Google, IBM, LinkedIn, and many other companies have corporate mindfulness programs? Maybe there is something to this. I mean people have only been practicing meditation for over 5000 years!

How Does Mindfulness Relate to Health and Safety?

This is where things get interesting. As safety professionals, we are always trying to find the silver bullet. What new program can we roll out that does not just sound good to the Board or Senior Management but will actually be meaningful and prevent people from getting hurt? I have got some good news for you. Multiple studies have found that practicing mindfulness or meditation has led to the reduction of injuries and improved worker well-being.

1. Mindfulness and Health and Safety Studies

Study Findings

One such study found that a chemical plant reduced their injuries by 70% in three years. Another study found that the workers at an oil company reported an 83% reduction in fatigue and 100% reduction in anxiety, and the intention to quit, which all point to improved mental health and well-being. Lastly, another study on a different oil company found a direct correlation between increased stress and increased injuries.

Fit For Duty

I do not think this should be surprising. If people are tired, overly anxious, thinking about things other than their job, or stressed, their work performance will be impacted by a lack of focus (mind-wandering), and this can lead to an injury. In fact, when Energy Safety Canada developed their Life Saving Rules (covers 80% of the 300+ fatalities in Western Canada Oil and Gas operations over 17 years), Fit For Duty was one of them. 

Fit for duty is not just avoiding drugs and alcohol but also includes being in a physical and mental state where one can perform their job. Interestingly, most incident investigation models and training do not really delve into one's personal, mental, and emotional states as contributing factors.

What are the Facts?

We are taught to stick to the facts, but as many of you know, what really are the facts? People remember things differently than they actually happen. This partially explains why you and a loved one may remember a situation differently. 

What is happening in someone's mind certainly affects the events leading up to an injury, yet this gets glossed over. I have some theories why this happens, but that is beyond the scope of this blog. Listen, I understand that safety professionals are not licensed psychologists, but it sure seems we, as safety professionals (and the industries we serve), are missing out on a fundamental element of the human reality that we should be exploring.

2. Mindfulness and Mental Health

Corporate Mental Health Programs

Mental health is starting to get some traction in companies, although there is still a long way to go. Many companies have mental health programs, but do they really help employees going through mental health challenges such as overwhelming stress? Some would say no, as many of these programs are just talking points and do not really provide employees with practical tools and resources, but they sure sound good from a PR perspective. Furthermore, some companies say one thing, but when the rubber hits the road, they do another.

CSA Mental Health Standard

It is good to see that there is now a CSA standard for mental health (CAN/CSA-Z1003-13). In fact, some health and safety legislation (such as the most recent update to the Alberta OHS Act, Regulation, and Code where the definition of workplace harassment) now includes psychological harm to workers and the definition of workplace violence includes psychological injury. But again, health and safety legislation has been in place for decades, yet workers still get hurt on the job, so although this is a step in the right direction, it does not mean that mental health will no longer be a challenge at the workplace.

Mindfulness Practice

As previously mentioned, a study found a correlation between increased stress and injuries, and another study found that stress was reduced through a regular practice of mindfulness. So, if your employees are stressed (for whatever reason), a mindfulness program will help them manage and reduce their stress so they can be at their best both at home and work. 

I have seen some companies try an informal mindfulness program where they listen to a mindfulness app together. While this is a great start, an app cannot replace a mindfulness or meditation teacher as they can address student challenges by sharing clear instructions, demonstrating the technique, watching for uncertainty or confusion, and asking and answering questions. Again, a great start but will not necessarily deliver results.

I have been practicing meditation and martial arts since 1997, and I can tell you from firsthand experience (and echoed by many other mindfulness/meditation students and teachers) that one cannot truly learn how to practice mindfulness or meditation from a book, CD, or app. These can help you get started but will not take you where you want/need to go. 

No wonder so many people try mindfulness or meditation but then give up because "it is not working for them". What this means is they are either not getting results or do not have the awareness of how the results are showing up for them. Again, a teacher can help guide the student here.

3. Consider Adopting a Mindful Safety Program

Costs vs. Benefits

In short, this is a no-lose proposition. Even if you are not sure about mindfulness, the studies have shown there is merit in Mindful Safety, and it is worth trying out as the cost is low versus the potential benefits (preventing injuries and cost reduction). Even if the implementation of a Mindful Safety program only prevents one injury, it is worth it. 

According to the National Safety Council in the United States, the average cost of a medically consulted injury (pretty much the same thing as a recordable injury) is $42,000 USD. The cost of a fatality is $1,220,000 USD. This does not take into account the additional human costs faced by the victim's family, friends, community, and employer.

Let us take it even further. According to the Canadian Mental Health Association, 50% of Canadians will have a mental health challenge in their lifetime. Furthermore, 1 out of 5 Canadians will experience a mental health challenge in any given year. 

So, if there have been 300 fatalities in Western Canada oil and gas operations, that means that potentially 60 of these fatalities likely involved someone who was about to have, did have, or just recovered from a mental health challenge. We would be fooling ourselves if we did not admit that some of these fatalities involved a worker who at the time was facing a mental health challenge.

Make It Fit Your Company

Try integrating a Mindful Safety program at your workplace, whether in the office, workshop, or field. For employees who face safety hazards and risks in the workshop or field, mindfulness can help them manage stress, stay rested, clear-minded, and focused (by the way - there are so many other benefits to mindfulness; I am just discussing the tip of the iceberg here).  Employees who are in the office and may not deal with your typical field workplace hazards can still benefit from such a corporate program as it can help them manage their mental health (including stress) and well-being.

A Mindful Safety program can also help one understand areas within an organization that may become psychological hazards if left unmanaged. These areas might include stress, organization culture, leadership and support, psychological support, civility and respect, growth and development, workload management, recognition and reward, engagement, work/life balance, protection from physical, mental, and emotional violence, bullying, and harassment.

Risk Defense Can Help You

At Risk Defense, we have several options for developing and implementing an impactful Mindful Safety Program, including:

• Integrate mindfulness into an existing Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) Management System
• Develop a new HSE Management System with a focus to integrate mindfulness and mental health
• Develop a corporate Mindful Safety program that is separate from the HSE Management System. Led by either Human Resources or Health & Safety
• Integrate our Mindful Safety App into field operations to help workers stay focused on the task, the hazards, the risks, and the hazard controls through a check-in process and guided mindfulness practice that the worker can select based on their preferences (the app is currently under development)

Check out our Mindful Safety, Mental Health, and Psychological Safety services page for more information.

Conclusion

Integrating mindfulness into your management system and work processes provides several benefits, including reducing stress, anxiety, and other factors that can distract workers during their high-risk tasks, thereby preventing injuries. Mindful Safety can also improve workers' ability to focus, learn and apply new information at the worksite, allowing workers to perform at their best and again prevent injuries. These benefits have been validated through several studies. Mindfulness at the workplace also allows companies to support their personnel's mental health and well-being. When we consider the cost of an incident and how frequently people are experiencing mental health challenges, it makes too much sense to explore the possibility of a Mindful Safety program.

For more information on mindful safety and how this can benefit your company (or to discuss other ideas on how to take HSE at your company to the next level), don't hesitate to get in touch with Risk Defense Inc. by filling out the contact form below.