Effective workplace safety programs extend beyond policies and procedures to encompass workers' psychological readiness to perform their jobs safely. During a recent Risk Control Webinar, Paul Krismer, founder and CEO of the Happiness Experts Company, shared insights from his 25-year career in safety and disability management.
Krismer challenged the traditional assumption that detailed safety programs alone determine workplace outcomes, arguing instead that psychological capital — the emotional energy and interpersonal dynamics within an organization — often plays a more significant role.
"I've been in organizations that had amazing programs on paper and poor safety outcomes," Krismer said. Conversely, he noted seeing organizations that lacked required safety programs entirely yet still achieved good outcomes.
Modern workers face constant mental distractions that compromise their ability to focus on tasks, particularly in high-risk industries. Krismer labeled the by-product of these distractions as "monkey mind" — the continuous internal commentary that prevents workers from being fully present.
"We tend to get on autopilot, and we lose a little bit of consciousness about what's actually happening in the dynamic moments of our day-to-day work," Krismer said.
This lack of focus creates serious safety risks, especially for workers performing repetitive tasks or operating heavy equipment. According to Krismer, the solution lies in mindfulness training.
Krismer defined mindfulness using the framework established by scholar Jon Kabat-Zinn: paying focused attention on purpose, without judgment, to the present moment.
The practice creates a pause between stimulus and response, allowing workers to manage their reactions rather than operating on autopilot. For example, a worker who becomes aware of anger or frustration can choose how to respond rather than allowing those emotions to dictate behavior.
"The default mode network is this idea that a play-by-play commentary is happening in our brain all the time and distracts us," Krismer said. "As we practice mindfulness, it just becomes a muscle that our brains more automatically lean into.”
The same mindfulness techniques used by professional athletes and Navy SEALs can be applied by workers in high-risk industries. Krismer pointed to the Chicago Bulls' success in the 1990s after incorporating mindfulness coach George Mumford into their training program, demonstrating that focus and presence directly improve performance under pressure.
These principles translate directly into industrial settings. Just as Navy SEALs use four-square breathing — inhaling, holding, exhaling, and holding again for four-second intervals — before operations to achieve focus and calm, workers can employ the same technique before operating heavy machinery or beginning high-risk tasks.
"They're just sharpening their reflexes and getting their focus so they're not coming in feeling all their emotion of panic, fear, or anxiety," Krismer said.
Workers don't need personal coaches or elite training programs to benefit from these proven techniques. The same methods that help athletes perform in the zone and SEALs maintain composure in combat can help frontline workers stay focused and safe on the job.
Recognizing that most workers won't adopt formal meditation practices, Krismer offered accessible alternatives:
Through repetition, your workforce will eventually start to adopt some of these skills, said Krismer.
Krismer concluded by emphasizing that self-awareness forms the foundation of all emotional intelligence, including the ability to work safely. Workers who recognize their thoughts and emotions in real time gain the capacity to manage themselves effectively.
"Without it, we can't feel empathetic," Krismer said. "And even if we're feeling empathy, if we're not aware of the feeling that we're picking up from other people, we can't manage it actively."
This presentation was part of Captive Resources’ Risk Control Webinar Series — regular installments of webinars to educate the group captive members we work with on topics like workplace safety, organizational leadership, and company performance. The thoughts and opinions expressed in these webinars are those of the presenters and do not necessarily reflect Captive Resources’ positions on any of the above topics.
