by Stuart McAulay, Aircraft Maintenance Engineer
How much longer should we consider the resulting effects on well-being before we normalize mental health as an accepted maxim of aviation? Many areas of the industry are actively confronting the stigma associated with mental health, while others are merely dancing around it. Persistent efforts from those invested in sincere change continue to open doors for those still contemplating the human investment as the adaptive workplace matures around them. Our proudly diverse and safety-conscious workplaces must consider the weight of such hesitation in order to see the human effects from inaction in real time. Mental health is no longer a dormant catchphrase to be overlooked in favor of preserving our old ways just as though nothing has changed when determining truly productive work environments.
Psychological safety in the workplace is a proven concept whose time has surely come. We already believe in the concept of physical safety to rightfully protect one another from harm or risk of harm. Psychological safety is the obvious partner to the physical realm as we remain vulnerable to various forms of mental injury from familiar workday habits and interactions. The threat of psychosocial harm leading to mental illness exceeds the threat of becoming physically injured due to our everyday working conditions. We can certainly attest to mental injury resulting from poor supervision, bullying, prejudice and toxic cultures, but we can also assume greater responsibility in reversing the norm, starting from the top down. We can now begin to interpret the positive effects of exercising psychological safety as a more personal approach in our daily commitments to safe and efficient air travel.
Regardless of how we naturally evolved to this point, the onus is on all of us to play a critical role in our ever-changing needs within the workplace. We have been affected by a significantly disruptive world pandemic. We are facing new financial challenges and an array of health concerns, all within the raw context of an increasingly complex economy. This modern dilemma has also caused us to further open our eyes to systemic mental health issues that have perpetuated many underlying stressors all along. The irony in the undeniable mantra of profit over people has caused many organizations to also realize the financial strain from their own unmitigated mental injuries, staff turnover and burnout of frequently undervalued workers. This is just as true in aviation as it is in other fields, where well-meaning people are negotiating a daily balance of acceptable work conditions with a healthy personal life. The days of tolerating this difficult trade-off have now given way to expecting a more dignified existence.
As long as human beings remain integral to our operations, we ought to heed the time-tested principles necessary to retain employees who are just doing their best to be human. There are excellent mental health resources available these days, just as there are industry champions who clearly lead by example. The key to a mentally aware organization is education and a commitment to illness prevention. The three phases of a mental health program should include prevention, intervention and accommodation, and leaders must be prepared to offer guidance into each phase relative to each situation. There may also be an unrealized business case for actively promoting wellness and making it easier for employees to enter a safe space for personal concerns. Peer-to-peer programs are another proven means for open conversation and mentorship. Simple yet sincere gestures are often all it takes to make a difference for someone who doesn’t feel heard. The development of good corporate programs affords employees the ability to step out in confidence knowing that real support is always available to them. Clearly, both the organization and the individual have a shared responsibility with psychological safety, but the decision-makers are the ones who must really initiate the cultural change towards a brighter future.