A new year often comes with new expectations at work, and really, in several aspects of our lives. We set new goals for ourselves with an optimistic and ambitious mindset to achieve them.

It can be both exciting and stressful at the same time. For many, 2020 will be a year of fresh starts, unfamiliar territory, personal and professional challenge, and perserverance. Many will start new jobs with new organizations, take on new roles or higher positions with curent employers, or have greater responsibility, accountability, targets, metrics and more cast upon them in their current roles - anything is possible.

Despite the situation, what happens when that flame inside of us weakens? How can we stay motivated in order to achieve the best results, and how does change affect Safety Culture and those around us?

Fundamentally, a strong Safety Culture is determined by positive beliefs, attitudes and practices. If changes in our lives, work tasks or responsbilities as we know them affect us negatively, workplace safety could be impacted if they go unaddressed or unmanaged. A very common example, stress, can easily affect the way we work (e.g. it may cause us to rush, overlook important details or become negligent), increasing safety risks to ourselves and our co-workers.

It is always important to remember that planning for foreseeable change can make a big difference. In the case of work, discussing things with our Managers, Supervisors or Mentors can greatly help to manage and understand expectations. Strong planning can help to make things less overwhelming, prevent burnout and ensure safe work practices are being followed - but it all starts with a sound attitude and mindset.

Here are a few very simple things we like to do to stay focused, motivated and in a good state of mind for effective work:

• Get up and stretch for a few minutes on a regular basis throughout the day and give the eyes a few moments to rest after staring at a screen for prolonged periods.
   
• Step outside and get some fresh air after being cramped inside for hours. A quick reset and change of scenery can do wonders.
   
• Put on our favourite music or relaxing playlists to listen to while working.
   
• Talk to our co-workers about non-work subjects or share / discuss things we are passionate about.
   
• Set daily, realistic and manageable goals for ourselves to achieve at work - and feel good about achieving them.
   
• Write down lessons learned from work experiences or projects and discuss or brainstorm ways in which we can continuously improve.
   
• Openly communicate and hear safety concerns as they arise and make sure everyone is aware.

All of these can, in some way, contribute to a strong Safety Culture. What would your list look like?

At the end of the day, everyone wants to go to work, do their job well and get home safe. Let's make 2020 a year where this is ensured.

Want to learn more about Safety Culture? Click here to read about our renowned online course, Safety Culture 100, used by many organizations, small and large.