Psychological Support to Enhance Wellbeing and Safety: A Rail Business Daily Guest Writer Feature
As human beings, we're not robots, and personal and work-life challenges can affect our wellbeing and safety performance. Dr Fletcher’s article highlighted how psychological assessments can support and develop employees facing these challenges. After an incident, OPC psychologists work with rail companies to provide assessments that help employees whose difficulties are impacting their safety performance.
Dr Fletcher explained that safety incidents often burden employees with feelings of guilt, anxiety, and confusion, posing both emotional and safety risks. Assessments assist employees in understanding these incidents and developing strategies for a safer return to work.
Severe incidents can impair an employee's performance due to the profound emotional distress caused. While not clinical specialists, OPC supports Occupational Health Services (OHS) in facilitating an employee’s phased return to work. Successful assessments enhance employees' confidence in their fitness to work and provide clarity during tough times.
The article also discussed how OPC assesses employees returning from significant illness to ensure their fitness for safety-critical roles. Additionally, these assessments can support neurodiverse employees and those nearing retirement, by identifying strategies to assist them in the workplace.
Post-Incident Assessments (PIAs) help employees involved in safety incidents by identifying Non-Technical Skills (NTS) shortfalls and creating customised development plans, that can include simulations and emotional management techniques, to address these gaps.
“This work is very personal and impactful. Each intervention is unique. It’s focused on an individual’s wellbeing, making it deeply rewarding for OPC Psychologists. We strive to provide evidence, assessment tool evaluation, and expertise from research and psychological models, to inform the decision-making process. Thereby, supporting both an individual’s wellbeing and organisational safety performance."
Dr Stephen Fletcher, Occupational Psychologist, Director at the OPC.
The Guest Writer feature ran on 21st June, 2024 in the RBD News Bulletin, and is also available on their website. You can read the full article here.
Get in touch with the friendly OPC team if you think our psychologists can provide a psychological assessment for one of your employees.