With World Mental Health Day approaching next week, today's episode features host Emily Hargrove, NSSGA's Director of Occupational Safety and Health, as she explores the critical link between mental health and workplace safety in the aggregates and mining industry. Highlighting how an individual's mental well-being directly impacts their ability to work safely, she reveals the ways in which stress and anxiety affect job performance and overall safety.
Emily transparently shares her journey, details how exposure to serious incidents in her safety career impacted her mental state and led to burnout, and advocates for mental health as a core safety issue, not an "extra." She stresses normalizing discussions on mental well-being and seeking support via counseling or EAPs, as well as the vital role of leaders' in fostering a psychologically safe workplace. This episode reminds us all that every day, and especially World Mental Health Day, is the right day to champion a holistic approach to occupational safety to nurture both the body and mind of the workforce.
Main Themes:
Mental health is a core safety issue.
Workplace stress impacts focus and job safety.
Emily shares her personal safety career's mental toll.
Normalize conversations on mental well-being and counseling.
Utilize mental health resources like EAPs.
Leaders must encourage mental health support.
Foster a psychologically safe workplace for the "whole person."
Insights for aggregates, mining, and industrial safety to improve safety culture.
Toolbox Talk Discussion Questions:
In this episode, Emily shares with the audience about how mental health is key to safety and health. How do you describe our company culture around mental health? Are there any areas for growth?
Emily shares that during her career, working daily with materials about serious injuries and fatalities and STCKY (stuff that can kill you) started to impact her mental health. She was able to reach out and get support. Does everyone know how to access our Employee Assistance Program?
Does anyone have a story they would like to share about mental health and how it can impact our daily work?
Key Takeaways:
"It shows up in their focus, their decision making and ultimately their safety on the job."
"The risk of a mistake goes way up. And in this line of work, one small mistake can have very serious consequences."
"That's why mental health is really a safety issue. It's not an extra or a soft topic. It's at the core of keeping people safe."
"Everything became STCKY and it really had an impact on my mental well being and how I was walking around in the world."
"I realized I needed some help. I needed an outlet to talk about and process those parts of my job and how it was affecting me."
"We need to normalize, talking about counseling, about therapy, about needing outlets for help and support with our mental health."
"We should feel comfortable checking in on how people are doing mentally, not just physically."
"The strongest safety culture is one that takes care of the whole person because our people are our most important resource and supporting their mental health supports everything we do."
Links:
National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association website
Take Control: Prevent Serious Injuries and Fatalities: https://www.nssga.org/industry-priorities/health-safety/take-control-prevent-serious-injuries-and-fatalities
Mental Health Resources: https://www.nssga.org/industry-priorities/health-safety/safety-month-2025
