Safety first: mental and emotional safety!!

Workplace safety has become paramount for government, corporates, families and individuals. Investment on training, equipment, and work process to ensure physical safety at work is commendable. Every company and employee wants to ensure that he, she or his colleagues reaches ‘reaches home safely just as he have arrived at work’. 

Do employers and employees think seriously about emotional and mental safety?  Emotional and mental safety at often passé or completely ignored though emotional and mental stress is the biggest contributor to physical safety.  Companies and employees often forget that safety is not only about creating a physically safe environment but also about mental and emotional well being of the employee and the people working for the organisation!   

Emotional and mental challenges are subtly created (and difficult to prove) at the work place via humiliation, blackmailing, lack of respect, verbal abuse, and exclusion from meetings, derogatory comments, favouritism and cronyism, non-performance based or unjustified promotion, unnecessary and unreasonable demand.  When people leave they do not provide a feedback at an exit interview as there is no evidence of breach of emotional and mental safety.

The consequences of emotional and mental safety are neither directly quantifiable nor understood though they impact the organization health and productivity levels as peoples morale, motivation and engagement at work is deeply hurt.  

Companies and individuals often ignore the fact that emotional and mental challenges at work place are also primary causes that contribute to hazards at work place. 

People impacted experience negative mental, emotional and physical health issues. Depression, sadness, dis-engagement at work, health complaints resulting in absenteeism, smoking and drinking, decreased engagement, productivity levels.  The strong negative undercurrents also impacts the reputation of the company, deters prospective talent, confidence in representing the organization, negotiation power of the organization.  

We got to accept that humans need to handle with care as they could be a 'bottle of champagne or a ticking bomb!"  People are also the best resources; they could be multiplier or diminish-er of resources. Multipliers create an environment of trust and respect creates an highly motivating and rich work environment that fosters creativity and empowerment at work place; diminish-er creates a controlled environment that stifles creativity and human spirit which the organisation and its reputation which repair is long and cost heavy. 

Many corporates now hire psychologists to help companies create awareness, identify, treat and counsel for mental and emotional stress and their factors. Psychologists also become a permanent member of human resource teams to identify and bust stress points in the organisation so that overall wellness of people and the organisation is ensured on a sustainable basis.

This blog is intended to create awareness of mental and emotional safety at work place; a responsibility of every individual in the organization. 

These Redwoods survived for thousands of years at the Muirwoods under the watchful eyes and care of the Park Rangers! Thanks to the Park Rangers for safe keeping and ensuring their  preservation.