Recovery is a weapon: takeaways from Hatch’s annual Working Together Safely forum
Our people – our resiliency – our responsibility. This year’s forum focused on the importance of mental wellness in the workplace—in particular, what it means to have psychological safety within our organization, and how we can apply this concept in our pursuit toward achieving no harm.
We hosted our annual Working Together Safely Forum on April 28th in time to recognize World Day for Safety and Health at Work. A long-awaited return to in-person events, this forum brought us together with our clients, partners, contractors, and colleagues as we gathered to talk about post-pandemic mental health and what it means to bring psychological safety to the workplace.
Keynote speaker Doug Sterbenz, former executive vice president and chief operating officer of WESTSTAR ENERGY, opened the day with an invigorating speech.
“I shook hands with a dead man. I shook hands with a dead man.”
These were the first words spoken at the forum, and they continued to resonate as Doug took us through his storied experience and valuable lessons on mental and physical health.
I shook hands with a dead man. I shook hands with a dead man.
Doug set the tone for the morning and the rest of our speakers followed suit, with compelling conversation led by medical experts, clients, and partners. The areas of expertise were vast: sports psychology anecdotes, the guiding principles of responsible project delivery, a quick physiology lesson as we explored the effects of stress and strain on the body, an exploration of the importance of creating a continuum between an employee’s homelife and their work life, and a nuanced look at perhaps the greatest tragedy to ever affect the global mining community. The speakers used their individual expertise to build upon each other’s presentations and give the audience a takeaway we will never forget.
Our second keynote speaker, Joe Roberts a.k.a The Skidrow CEO, ended the day with his moving testimony. From living under a bridge in Vancouver and collecting cans for a living, to landing himself on the cover of Canadian Business magazine as the CEO of one of Vancouver’s leading multimedia companies, Joe delivered his touching story with wit and honesty, and effectively tied the day together by leaving us with this message: what you’re doing will change lives.
For more information on the Working Together Safely forum or on future events, please contact our Hatch Safety event team.
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