1. Stop playing the “Safety Game”

How many times have you had to produce that board report on all of the stats, it takes forever to produce but how is it really valued? Have you ever thought about putting the same report in for the next quarter and just changing the date, would anybody really pick up on it?

What do the stats actually mean? Brilliant…..600 near misses reported by the site last month, great, they over achieved on their target, well done! What are we really saying? “Aren’t we a great company because last month we had 600 events whereby we could have harmed somebody”

TIP – have a game of safety SNAP (like the card game) ask the directors / senior managers to write down, so as nobody else can see, the top three safety risk issues in the business. Now see if any of them have matched up? Make sure that what we do actually achieves something so as the benefits are clear, otherwise it will get lost. 

2. Treat safety interventions as a good news message

How often have you run training courses for colleagues? When was the last time they said thank you for inviting them? Seriously, this is an investment in their knowledge to ensure we give them all the tools to look after themselves and their colleagues so why do they turn up as if we have just given them a one-day prison sentence. Do we really sell investing in people’s knowledge as a good news story or do we say it is mandatory training, the old three-line whip!

TIP – change the email invite from “you are required to attend on such and such a date etc.”

To…..”because we as a company value you, we invite you to attend this session in order to ensure we maximize your knowledge to ensure we continually look after you etc.……

3. Keep the language simple

People can quickly switch off to jargon, probably because they don’t understand what it is you’re talking about, for example in risk assessments, we could ask the colleague to tell us all about the inherent hazards involved in the activity and any epidemiological research that has been carried out on the operation……what are you going to get back?? Probably somebody that wants you to move on quickly, after all, all you are really trying to find out is what’s a bit “dodgy” and then make it less dodgy.

TIP – don’t be afraid of using simplistic everyday words as you will find you get an immediate positive response. 

4. Demonstrate that the intervention makes a difference

Very often controls will be put in place because of safety, however, sometimes the end user can’t actually see how it makes a difference, for example, everybody has to have high vis jackets even though they work in the office, what? Am I going to get knocked down by a truck? How is that jacket going to make me safer? 

Of course it’s not, however the reason I want you to wear it is so as we can guarantee that the people who are working near trucks will always have their jacket on, it helps us be consistent and manage it more effectively so by you wearing it at all times ensures you are looking after others.

TIP – just tell the truth, it maybe we are doing something for commercial reasons because it looks good, that’s OK but don’t hide behind health and safety with it. 

5. Involve everybody

Without doubt, the best ideas come from people who do jobs but for some reason when it comes to them working safely, it’s very often the safety professional that are seen as the best people to know how to do it safely. Let’s be realistic, how many of us has done every job that we oversee? Very few indeed, so why would we have all the answers. it’s OK for the SHE professional to not have all the answers, in fact, it’s dangerous if we pretend, we have.

I am often asked what I think about that, what I think about this, how can we do this better etc. When I don’t know, the answer is simple….”Sorry, it’s not something I know a great deal about but what about the operator that’s using the machine? What do they think?

Does that now mean I have lost some credibility or in fact, is it the opposite, have I gained some respect?

TIP – don’t get caught into the mindset of “do things the way I say” let’s involve others, agree and then act as agreed.

Written by Gerard Hand

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If you want to hear more from Gerard Hand he will be speaking at our next event The SHE Show North East, Tuesday 25th March 2025, Hilton Newcastle Gateshead

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Gerard Hand, Past President of IOSH, Director, GPH Safety

Gerard has been involved in health and safety at various level since 1990, he completed a masters degree from the University of Leicester in health and safety management and has built up an excellent reputation for delivering presentations at board level to a number of blue chip organisations, the training that he delivers is well known for its practical interpretation and enthuses directors to become more active in health and safety decision making.

Gerard joined Sainsbury’s Supermarkets in 1983 and worked with them in various different capacities latterly as the Retail Field, Health Safety and Fire Manager whereby he had key responsibilities for 19 health safety and fire professionals.

In 1999, Gerard co-founded Activus Safety Management Services, originally set up as a partnership; it achieved limited company status in 2005. After a number of successful years with Activus, Gerard decided to form GPH Safety, a new company which focuses more on the training side of health and safety.

Gerard has worked with a number of varied organisations on both Safety Management Systems implementation and delivering training to a wide audience.

Organisations that Gerard has been involved in include County Councils, Police Forces, Retailers, Food Manufacturing and the Gambling Commission.

Gerard has an array of experience and involvement in the governance and committee structure of IOSH. He has served as the Past Chair of the Retail and Distribution Group, the Vice Chair of the Groups Management Sub-committee the past Chair of the Groups Management Committee and is the chair of the Networks Committee. Gerard is a member of Council and was the President of IOSH in 2013.

In 2010 Gerard was awarded with the IOSH Presidents distinguished service certificate for the work that he had carried out with the implementation of the IOSH groups review findings.

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Please note, the views expressed by the original article author are theirs alone and do not necessarily represent those of Washingtondowling Associates Ltd or The SHE Show and therefore we take no responsibility for the content or accuracy of this post.  

1. Find Your Why

It’s not just about what you do—it’s about why you do it. Discovering the reason you get out of bed each morning to go to work can make all the difference to your wellbeing. Whether it’s the impact you have on others, the sense of purpose it gives you, or the small moments of achievement, understanding your ‘why’ can provide meaning and motivation.

Ask yourself: What is it about your work, however small, that makes a difference? Connecting with your purpose can help you feel more fulfilled and resilient. After all, we all need a why.

2. Find your flow

What are you good at? What do others know you for? Recognising your strengths and, more importantly, identifying when you’re using them each day can help you achieve a state of flow—where work feels less like something to be endured and more like an experience to be enjoyed.

Research shows that people who use their strengths regularly are more likely to be happy, engaged, and experience higher levels of well-being. A study by the Gallup Organisation found that employees who focus on their strengths are 6 times more likely to be engaged at work and 3 times more likely to report having an excellent quality of life.

Take time to reflect on what you excel at—whether it’s literally working with excel, presenting, or bringing humour and energy to your team. Focus on doing more of what you’re good at and encourage others to do the same. Strength-spotting in others can also help foster a positive and collaborative work environment, boosting both your wellbeing and theirs.

3. Be Intentional with Your Time and Attention

How you spend your time outside of work plays a huge role in how well you perform at work. It’s during these moments that you recharge your “battery” and nourish your mind and body, enabling you to be your best. But what truly recharges you?

It’s unlikely to be hours of doom scrolling. Instead, it might be spending quality time with those who matter most, being physically active, or engaging in activities that make you feel good. Research shows that activities that promote relaxation, connection, and physical well-being are key to restoring our energy and boosting productivity.

All too often, our time off can slip by without intention. Be mindful of how you’re spending it. By being present and taking notice of the little things—

whether it’s a walk in nature, a conversation where we give our full attention, or simply eating a good meal —you’re investing in your wellbeing and setting yourself up to succeed.

Written by Dr Helen Garr

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If you want to hear more from Dr Helen Garr she will be speaking at our next event The SHE Show North East, Tuesday 25th March 2025, Hilton Newcastle Gateshead

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Dr Helen Garr, The Wellbeing GP

Dr Helen Garr, AKA the Wellbeing GP, is an experienced GP, expert and leader in the field of mental health and wellbeing. Helen is known for her energetic and interactive talks that leave her audience with practical takeaway tools to improve their health and wellbeing. She expertly delivers the science, evidence and solutions behind improving our mental health and wellbeing both at home and at work in a way that is fun, relatable and accessible to staff of all levels. Helen is currently Medical Director Designate of NHS Practitioner Health – the largest health care professional mental health treatment service of its kind in the world, former Public Health England Clinical Champion for physical activity and has a background in psychology and coaching. 

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Please note, the views expressed by the original article author are theirs alone and do not necessarily represent those of Washingtondowling Associates Ltd or The SHE Show and therefore we take no responsibility for the content or accuracy of this post.  

Creating a workplace where team members feel empowered to take charge of their wellbeing is essential for building a supportive and healthy environment. This approach ensures that wellbeing is prioritised every day, not just during Mental Health Awareness Week or World Mental Health Day.

So, how can managers create a culture where team members feel confident in taking responsibility for their own wellbeing?

In this article, we have plenty of tools to help get you started or improve what you’ve already started!

Lead by example: Your behaviour sets the tone for the entire team, influencing all aspects of wellbeing. Consider how you manage your own wellbeing daily. Do you take regular screen breaks? Make time to get outside and move during the day? Encourage walking meetings? Do you take a proper lunch break? Are you balancing your work hours, showing a clear boundary between work and personal time?

Your team will notice and often follow what you do. Therefore, focus on modelling healthy behaviours. In more hybrid work setups, be more vocal and visible about your wellbeing practices so that the team is aware and encouraged to do the same. By demonstrating these habits, you set a powerful example that promotes a culture of wellbeing.

Openness and humility: Create an ‘open door’ policy; make yourself approachable for conversations. The more conversations about mental health, stress, and wellbeing that happen every day, the more it becomes part of your culture. Keep conversations confidential to encourage open communication. Remember conversations about mental health aren’t just talking about our struggles or what is causing us stress, it’s also about celebrating the wins for our wellbeing.

Empower, don’t advise: When team members come to you with their challenges, ask great coaching questions to help them come up with their answers. They are more likely to commit to an action that way, creating wellbeing ownership. Imagine this: a colleague comes to you and tells you that the workload is too much and they’re feeling overwhelmed and stressed. You spring into action and work out a plan of what tasks on their list can be moved or postponed. You think you’ve ‘fixed’ the problem, and the team member goes about their day-to-day. Only to find that two weeks later, they’re still feeling overwhelmed and stressed.

Let’s imagine you empowered your colleague instead. Try using questions like these:

“Do you know when you started to feel overwhelmed and stressed?”

“Have you felt like this before, in the past? What helped you then?”

“Tell me more about that.”

“If you were to move away from this stress, what would you be moving toward?”

“What could you do to help you make that first step? What is the first step?”

“What do you need from me, your colleagues, to help you take that step / action?”

“If you commit to doing X, how different would your life be?”

Focus on developing skills in emotional intelligence: Often, the issues brought to managers tend to be surface issues. Therefore, if we can get to what is really going on, we can better enable and empower others. The solution we might come up with isn’t necessarily going to be the right one for our team. We’re not them, so only they know the true answer and what they need. It might not be a reduced workload in the example we see above, and sometimes we cannot reduce the workload.

It’s much better to focus on a person’s relationship with stress and their coping mechanisms rather than trying to take away the stress for them. By helping them understand and manage their stress, we enable them to cope better the next time they feel overwhelmed. This approach fosters independence and emotional intelligence, as they learn to handle challenges on their own. Additionally, they develop greater self-awareness, which helps them proactively prevent overwhelm in the first place.

The more emotionally aware we are, the more we can act for ourselves instead of blaming the workplace or situation. Consider training and coaching for you and your team to help develop these skills.

Continually nurture team spirit: This is an ongoing process among the team. Strive to do regular things every day that create opportunities for team members to be social and have fun! Create psychological safety for team members to feel comfortable being vulnerable. This will create more harmony and trust, which will support team members to be confident in talking to each other and supporting each other.

While big team day events are good, try not to leave it at just that. Find something for every day.

Some examples of team-building activities that can be done within the every day:

• Brainstorming sessions with a physical activity component
• Casual tea and coffee chats (in person or virtually)
• Walk and talk meetings
• Photo sharing – encourage the start of meetings with photos the team can share. These are good icebreakers too – like sharing a baby picture and guessing who is who.
• Reflective models – use things like the ‘Rose, Bud, Thorn’ reflective tool to encourage conversations beyond work.
• Virtual bulletin boards – create kudos moments for the team to celebrate and engage.

Normalise mental health and wellbeing: Talk openly about how you manage your mental health and wellbeing. Share education about mental health at work to help engage conversations.

Avoid making signposting the immediate response: Imagine talking to your manager about something that makes you vulnerable, and it takes so much courage to even start the conversation. Now imagine that manager responding with a solution that is focused solely on signposting. What does this actually communicate? It could say ‘help for you is out there’ as opposed to saying ‘I am here for you’. Which would you prefer?

Having support and resources are still an important part of mental health first aid; just don’t make it the first thing. If you were my manager, I’d rather you said something like, “that sounds really tough, is there anything I can do to help?” Using coaching questions, I am more likely to feel empowered to seek professional help if I have named the idea / action myself.

Lastly, simply talking to you as their manager might be a very big part of the solution that either party may not even be aware of until they’ve journeyed through it.

Our listening and empathic skills as managers and team members are so important, and it’s something that can be learned. Consider training and development for your team on listening skills and coaching.

By following these steps, you can cultivate a culture where wellbeing responsibility is a shared value. This empowers your team members to take charge of their wellbeing, inspiring others to do the same, ultimately leading to a happier, healthier, and more productive work environment.

Written by Tracey Dangerfield, SkillBase First Aid

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About SkillBase First Aid

Imagine facing a crisis at work, at home, or in public – a colleague in distress, a child having a seizure, or a cyclist knocked off their bike.

Would you know what to do?

At SkillBase First Aid, we turn ordinary people into heroes on standby. Our realistic yet relaxed first aid and mental health first aid training equips you to act with knowledge and courage.

Our vision is that no one should feel anything less than confident to approach someone in need.

Our mission is simple, we create heroes on standby and aim to create equal numbers of Mental Health First Aiders to First Aiders in the workplace. Trained in a way that gives them confidence, not just competence, on our realistic, engaging and relaxed courses.

Join our mission and be ready to make a difference.

Visit: www.skillbasefirstaid.com for further details

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Please note, the views expressed by the original article author are theirs alone and do not necessarily represent those of Washingtondowling Associates Ltd or The SHE Show and therefore we take no responsibility for the content or accuracy of this post.