Skip to content
Free sample
Español

SAFETY MOMENT, JULY 9

Keep it private and make it normal

See today's safety momentHow to give a safety moment

Safety moment, July 9

Keep it private and make it normal

Everyone brings their life to work: money worries, family problems, long hours, time away from home, grief or a layoff. Stress, burnout, anxiety, depression and substance use are health problems, not weakness, and people do get better with help. They also pull your focus off the task, and on a jobsite a lost focus can get someone hurt. Looking out for each other's minds is part of looking out for each other's safety.

SAFETY MOMENT

July 9

The hazard

Everyone brings their life to work: money worries, family problems, long hours, time away from home, grief or a layoff. Stress, burnout, anxiety, depression and substance use are health problems, not weakness, and people do get better with help. They also pull your focus off the task, and on a jobsite a lost focus can get someone hurt. Looking out for each other's minds is part of looking out for each other's safety.

The action

Leaders set the tone: talk about stress openly, and never joke about someone getting help. If a coworker opens up to you, keep it between you, unless someone's safety is at risk. OSHA's recordkeeping rule treats mental illnesses as privacy concern cases, so the employer may not enter the worker's name on the OSHA 300 Log (29 CFR 1904.29(b)(6)). (29 CFR 1904.29(b)(7)(iii))

ASK THE CREW

What changes in a coworker would make you stop and ask if they are okay?

From the talk: Mental health at work. Read it in full, free, with the questions and the sign-in sheet.

HOW TO USE IT

How to give a safety moment

  1. Gather the crew where they work, before the shift or the meeting starts. Read the hazard out loud.
  2. Ask the question and let two or three people answer. What they say about their own work counts for more than what you read.
  3. Name the action and point to one place on today's job where it applies, so everyone knows what to do differently.
  4. Write the date and the names on a sign-in sheet.

A safety moment is short and does not replace the full talk. When you want to go through a topic with the crew, pick a free toolbox talk.

PRINT AND EDIT

365 safety moments, $29

One moment for every day of the year in the same format as this one: the hazard, the action, the question and the source talk with its citation. Print a page a day or show a slide.

  • 365 safety moments, one per day
  • Dated PDF calendar, a page a day
  • PowerPoint with one slide per moment
  • English and Spanish
  • Each moment links back to its cited toolbox talk

Instant download. 30-day refund, no questions.

Free 52-week toolbox talk calendar (PDF)