OHN PH

07/10/2025

If you are the designated first aider, search and rescue member, or part of the Emergency Response Team (ERT) in the workplace, this message is for you.

In reference to the Philippine Red Cross, the Emergency Action Principles consist of four phases: Scene Safety, Primary Survey, Activating Medical Help, and Secondary Survey. Integrating psychological safety into these phases is essential, as it ensures that individuals affected by crises feel emotionally secure, respected, and supported not just physically cared for.

1. Scene safety
✅It is when responders ensure safety for themselves, the victim, and bystanders.
✅Psychological safety integration:
-Scan for signs of emotional distress and panic
-Use a calm and reassuring tone
-Avoid triggering environments such as crowding or loud noises by gently guiding victims to safer areas or the designated first aid station

2. Primary Survey
✅It is when responders assess the victim’s responsiveness and checking for life-threatening conditions specifically circulation, airway, and breathing (CAB).
✅Psychological safety integration:
-Speak gently and explain actions before touching the victim
-Respect dignity, especially in public or chaotic settings such as covering exposed sensitive parts of the victim
-Maintain calm and gentle body language to reduce anxiety

3. Activating Medical Help
✅This is when responders call for emergency medical services (EMS) or advanced care. If alone, it’s important to know whether to call first or care first, depending on the situation.
✅Psychological safety integration:
-Ensure the victim feels heard and not blamed
-Clearly explain what will happen next to help the victim mentally prepare
-Reassure the victim with phrases like, “I’ll stay with you while help is on the way”

4. Secondary survey
✅It is when responders gather more information and continuously provide care while waiting for EMS.
✅Psychological safety integration:
- Ask about the victim’s emotional state, not just physical symptoms
-Validate feelings with phrases like, “It’s okay to feel scared”
-Empower the victim to contact or connect with family or trusted friends for emotional support

In every emergency, physical care saves lives—but psychological safety preserves dignity, trust, and resilience. Whether you're a first aider, search and rescue member, or any part of the Emergency Response Team (ERT), your calm presence, respectful actions, and empathetic words can promote healing—not just physically, but also psychologically.

05/10/2025

In the critical moments of a first aid response, time is of the essence but so is trust. While responders are trained to stop bleeding, check pulses, and stabilize injuries, there’s another wound that often goes unseen: the emotional trauma of the person in crisis.

Psychological safety in first aid response is the calm voice that says, “you are not alone”, the gentle touch that asks for consent before handling or applying care, and the sincere eye contact that says, “I see you not just your injury”.

Psychological safety in first aid response means:
✅No judgment: Whether the injury was self-inflicted, accidental, or stress-related, the responder never blames but affirms that they are there to give care.

✅Consent and clarity: Before touching or treating, the responder explains and respects boundaries. Imagine a person injured and helpless getting emotional trauma because of unconsented touch. Consent begins when “Hey! Are you ok? I am_______ a trained first aider. I am here to help you, may I?”

✅Calm presence: A responder’s calm aura becomes an emotional anchor in the storm. When the person others rely on for physical safety is panicking, it creates psychological harm in an already chaotic event.

✅Inclusive language: Use terms that are gender-sensitive, trauma-informed, and culturally familiar.
👉Instead of saying, “Hey! What’s wrong with you?”, say, “Hi, I’m here to help. Can you hear me?”
👉Instead of saying, ““Sir/Ma’am, are you okay?””, say, “Are you okay? How can I support you?”
👉Instead of saying, “Relax! Stop crying.”, say, “It’s okay to feel scared. You’re safe now.”
👉When talking to a person with disability, avoid asking, “Can you walk or not?”, but say, “Would you like support to move safely?”

✅Compassion for all: Extend care even to pets or companions affected by the emergency. Acknowledge that pets are emotional companions. If someone is grieving the loss of a pet, offer a safe space and affirm their pain.

Psychological safety in first aid response means caring beyond the injury. When we respond with empathy, clarity, and respect, we don’t just save lives- we protect dignity, restore trust, and help heal from the inside out. Because in every emergency, the heart needs first aid too.

03/10/2025

The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety, based on Timothy R. Clark’s model, is a framework that outlines how individuals progress through increasing levels of safety within teams and organizations. It’s designed to help leaders build cultures where people feel safe to be themselves, learn, contribute, and challenge norms.

1. Inclusion Safety:
It is when employees feel accepted and valued for who they are.
Leadership Behaviors that Enable It:
-Greeting everyone by name
-Using inclusive language
-Respecting diverse identities and backgrounds
-Avoiding culturally insensitive assumptions

2. Learner’s Safety:
It is when employees feel safe to ask questions, admit mistakes, and learn.
Leadership Behaviors that Enable It:
-Admitting own mistakes
-Choosing to say “I don’t know” instead of pretending to have all the answers
-Encouraging questions and curiosity without fear or embarrassment
-Celebrating effort, not just results or perfections
-Recognizing the quiet contributions that often go unnoticed

3. Contributor’s Safety:
It is when employees feel safe to share ideas and take initiative.
Leadership Behaviors that Enable It:
-Delegating meaningfully and avoiding micromanagement
-Acknowledging ideas and input
-Aligning tasks with strengths
-Providing autonomy with support
-Listening without interrupting

4. Challenger Safety:
It is when employees feel safe to question practices or suggest change even to authority.
Leadership Behaviors that Enable It:
- Pausing before reacting to dissent
- Protecting those who speak up, even when their truth is hard to hear
- Encouraging ethical courage such as speaking up when others stay silent and choosing integrity over popularity
- Responding to feedback with openness

Psychologically safe leadership is not just a mindset—it’s a commitment. It’s reflected in everyday decisions that affirm, “Your presence matters. Your input counts. And together, we grow.”

03/10/2025

27/09/2025

“Psychological safety is a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.”- Amy Edmondson, Harvard Business School.

In the workplace, psychological safety refers to a state where people feel safe to speak up, share ideas, admit mistakes, and ask questions without fear of being judged, punished, or humiliated.

Working with fear describes a workplace where psychological safety is low or absent. In such environments, employees often suppress their voices and avoid taking interpersonal risks. The following situations illustrate this:

👉A worker hesitates to report a safety hazard for fear of being reprimanded or blamed.
👉An employee stays silent during meetings, afraid of sounding “stupid” or being mocked.
👉A team member avoids asking for help, fearing they’ll be seen as incompetent.
👉A worker hides mental health struggles due to fear of stigma or job loss.
👉An employee doesn’t speak up about harassment, fearing retaliation or disbelief.
👉A rank-and-file worker avoids giving feedback to a supervisor, afraid of damaging relationships or being labeled “difficult.”
👉Designated first aiders hesitate to do their roles for fear of being watched and judged.

Working without fear means more than just physical safety. It’s the freedom to be human at work.

I once worked in a department where mental energy was already consumed just preparing to explain why we needed to take vacation leaves for fear of being called "neglectful"- there's low psychological safety. Let’s remember vacation leaves are basic workers’ rights.

When team members have to brace themselves and walk on eggshells once a month due to someone’s mood changes during menstruation- that’s a sign of low psychological safety.

In psychologically safe environments:

✅When someone says, “I’m not okay,” and the response is “Thanks for sharing- how can I support you?”- that’s psychological safety.
✅When a junior employee shares a bold idea and the team listens in with curiosity, not critique- that’s psychological safety.
✅When a leader says, “I made a mistake,” and doesn’t blame or retaliate but humbly asks the team for help- that’s psychological safety.

When we build psychological safety, we don’t just prevent harm; we unlock potential. We create spaces where people don’t just survive the workday, but thrive in it.

Because when people feel safe, they speak freely. And when they speak freely, they build safer, stronger workplaces for everyone.

And in workplaces where people thrive, businesses flourish through better ideas, deeper trust, and sustainable growth.

26/09/2025

PLEASE Dear OSH and Emergency Preparedness advocates! Include it in our employee reminders!

This may not be career-related, but it’s deeply connected to what we stand for as OSH advocates: valuing life and safety in all its forms.

Typhoons come with advance warnings: through the news, social media, and community alerts. We prepare our homes, our families, our workplaces. But let’s not forget- our pets.

They are part of our emotional ecosystem. They have life. They deserve to be safe, too.

Let’s make sure our emergency plans include them:
Prepare a pet go-bag with food, water, meds, and comfort items.
Know pet-friendly evacuation sites.
Keep updated IDs and health records.
Practice evacuation drills with them.

Because preparedness isn’t just about survival — it’s about compassion.