Psych Health and Safety Podcast USA

In episode 96, host Dr. I. David Daniels speaks with Dr. Heliana Ramirez about the “Workplace Battle Fatigue” of workers in toxic workplaces. Workplaces with chronic exposure to psychosocial hazards can be not only psychological but also physically harmful to those exposed. A toxic workplace is one where workers feel psychologically unsafe, disrespected, or threatened. It can include negative behaviors such as bullying, harassment, discrimination, and unethical behavior. Toxic work environments can also lead to burnout, health issues, decreased productivity, and high turnover rates. Those in toxic work environments may experience anxiety, depression, and stress and may take more time off or, in some cases, leave the organization either voluntarily or involuntarily. Dr. Ramirez will share not only her expertise regarding toxic workplaces but also the actual damage these workplaces can cause, particularly to members of marginalized populations.

Episode 95 features a conversation between host Dr. I. David Daniels and Mark-Anthony Williams, a working safety professional, safety consultant, and podcaster about “Safety in the Real World.” One important reason for this podcast is to facilitate conversation about psychological health and safety from an occupational health and safety viewpoint and perspective. One way we do this is to chat with folks who understand physical health and safety and translate that knowledge into addressing psychosocial hazards. Issues related to stress, burnout, and overall workplace mental health are concepts that have traditionally landed on the desks of human resources staff. Recently, there has been a realization that hazards we can’t always see are, in most cases, at the root of incidents that result in physical harm or damage. In these situations, an environment or occupational health and safety professional is likely to be involved early on in both the conversation before and actions after an incident. The same skills used to address physical hazards can be utilized when addressing psychosocial hazards. This episode was filmed from Mark Anthony’s car after a work day. His approach to safety (both physical and psychological) is very practical and down-to-earth but exceptionally technically sound.

In this episode, host Dr. I. David Daniels will speak with Suzi Craig, VP of Workplace Mental Health at Mental Health America, about Mental Health America's (MHA) Bell Seal for Workplace Mental Health. This national certification program recognizes employers committed to creating mentally healthy workplaces. The program recognizes workplaces that lead the way in improving employee mental health and well-being. Bell Seal recipients receive a promotion toolkit to announce their certification to employees, clients, customers, and the communities they serve. Ms. Craig will share her views on mental health in the workplace, some of MHA's history, and a bit about the criteria used to determine the viability of workplace mental health efforts in organizations that apply.

This week, host Dr. I. David Daniels will speak to Torin Monet, a management consultant who has studied the data associated with psychologically unhealthy workplaces and made a profound business case for psychological health and safety. There is a significant amount of data to suggest the United States is destroying innovation, productivity, and productivity through emotional and psychological abuse in the workplace. - The US is #1 among developed nations for workplace stress, anxiety disorders, psychopathy, antisocial personality disorder, homicide, and suicide - 70% of US adults, approximately 223.5 million people, have experienced psychological trauma, increasing their sensitivity to workplace abuse and subsequent mental health disorders - 30% of American workers (46.8 million people) are victims of psychological abuse, leading to anxiety, depression, PTSD, and the spread of sociopathy - Year-on-year increase in workplace toxicity and harassment is evident, with 22% of workers saying they were subject to workplace psychological abuse in the last 12 months compared to 14% in 2022 Torin argues that a clear set of business data points supports the value of a psychologically safe and healthy workplace as a business imperative.

This week, host Dr. I. David Daniels speaks with Laynnea Myles and Dr. Francene Scott-Diehl, the hosts of the SHE Unfiltered podcast, about their views on Safety, Health, and Environmental topics, including the role SHE professionals play in addressing psychological health and safety. The occupational health and safety professional is, for the most part, a traditional industry with its standards, practices, and views of what is required to create a safe workplace. The views of men have been the foundation of workplace safety standards. However, new voices have emerged with unique approaches to addressing safety that sound and look different. Laynnea and Dr. Fran started their podcast in 2023 and regularly share their views of the safety profession and topics in safety that need to be discussed but are often not.

In this episode, host Dr. I. David Daniels speaks with Dr. S. L. Young, an educator, social entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and mental health advocate whose lived experience has led him to become a voice for psychologically safer workplaces. He has turned his experience of nearly ending his own life a decade ago after a series of events that included being exposed to bullying and abuse at work, as motivation to advocate for a law that will make the workplace more psychologically healthy and safe. Dr. Young’s passion for helping others is based on his ability to excel academically and professionally despite being encouraged to leave high school in tenth grade. In addition to completing his doctorate, Dr. Young completed two master's degrees. The topics of his nine books about overcoming challenges and living a purposeful life include belief, overcoming challenges, inspirational quotes, ethics, communication, living with intention, time management, negotiation, and workplace bullying.

In episode 90, host Dr. I. David Daniels speaks with Brian Turnage, owner and founder of Mental Edge Performance, a business focused on improving the mental performance of athletes in baseball as well as other competitive sports. He also translates these skills into organizations by connecting competition, business, coaching, and leadership. This episode is being released at the beginning of the season of a sport called “America’s Pastime.” Baseball, like other competitive sports, requires: Strong physical strength and hand-eye coordination are essential for batting and pitching. Players should also be strong sprinters with the agility to move quickly between bases. A great player can consistently hit the ball with power and accuracy and field the ball cleanly and accurately. Baseball players also need mental agility, mental toughness, a fast reaction time, and a good understanding of the game. Many learn how to compete, how to win, and even how to lose in competitive sports. But even more important than physical skills, the mental aspect of sports can follow a person into their professional life. It can tremendously affect how they perceive and experience the work environment. Taking his background as an athlete and former firefighter, Brian works with athletes, business leaders, government officials, and others to convert their focus on winning into a focus on performance. This focus on the mental side of performance can be a key to establishing, maintaining, and thriving in, a psychologically healthy and safe environment.

In episode 89, host Dr. I. David Daniels will speak with Dr. Enoh Ukpong, a professor of Nursing who immigrated to the United States from Nigeria. She will share a bit of her lived experience of surviving child abuse at the hands of a family member before deciding to come to the U. S. to pursue education as a way out of those circumstances. Though she had never been on an airplane or used a telephone before her arrival, she worked through her undergraduate and graduate degrees. She worked her way to the highest levels of the healthcare industry before becoming an educator. Dr. Ukpong’s story helps shed light on the experience of those attempting to operate in systems, organizations, and even communities that were not designed with their psychological or emotional needs in mind and how various coping strategies, including one’s faith, can help a person succeed despite the trails and challenges that they face.

In episode 88, host Dr. I. David Daniels will speak with Rima Seiilova-Olson, a software engineer, founder, and CEO of Tenvos. This technology company is developing an objective software-based solution to monitor the well-being of workers by objectively identifying impairment. The World Health Organization defines impairment as “any loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological, or anatomical structure or function.” However, impairment to many employers leads them to assume that there is a need to implement a drug or alcohol test on a worker, especially in the aftermath of an injury or property damage incident. Through years of research, Ms. Seiilova-Olson and her team have developed a solution that uses a person’s voice to evaluate their emotional and mental state compared to an individual baseline and determine impairment before assigning people to work that will expose them to hazards that could be harmful. The goal is to evaluate the human “operating system” more objectively and to determine the existence of impairment in a proactive but not intentionally punitive way.

In Episode 84, host Dr. I. David Daniels speaks with Dr. Andrea Holman about the concept of “Cultural Mistrust.” Cultural mistrust is a feeling of suspicion toward people from a culture that is perceived as dominant. It can be caused by the lived experience of being treated in a way that the target of the behavior perceives as threatening or harmful. Cultural mistrust can also be described as the tendency to distrust others in personal, institutional, or social contexts. Most of the research into this concept has focused on Cultural mistrust as an adaptive attitudinal stance in which a person of color is suspicious and guarded toward European Americans, particularly European American authority figures. It is adaptive in that if one accepts the contention that the current social paradigm is inherently racist, then a person of color cannot assume that a European American person has his or her best interests at heart. This attitudinal stance was first described in William Grier and Price Cobbs’s classic book, Black Rage. Grier and Cobbs called this survivalist stance cultural paranoia. Many writers later changed the term to cultural mistrust to emphasize that it is an adaptive strategy rather than a form of psychopathology. Dr. Holman researched the concept and utilized what she learned as an academic, psychologist, and DEIB Senior Manager. In this conversation, she shares her understanding of the concept and her thoughts about how it impacts how people show up at work and how the workplace can be designed and managed as a safe place and space for all.