Judy Agnew, Ph.D.

Curiosity has been praised by researchers, therapists, and business leaders as a mindset that strengthens relationships, boosts well-being, and sparks creativity. That makes it an appealing choice…

The National Safety Council has estimated the total cost of worker injuries in the US to be over $175 billion dollars per year. This is more than the total cost of major diseases such as cancer and…

With the disturbing rise of disrespect and intolerance in our culture, fear-based management is in danger of becoming normalized again. Read Judy Agnew's post on LinkedIn. 

There is a trend emerging in the tech/AI world of pushing a 72-hour work week. 996 refers to working from 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week. The practice started in the tech industry in China in the 2010s.…

According to Gallup’s “State of the Global Workplace 2025,” management engagement has dropped to 27%, meaning only 27% of managers are truly engaged in their jobs. Our consulting experience suggests…

The negative impact of stress in the workplace is well documented. Long-term stress can cause physical health issues (high blood pressure, headaches), mental health issues (irritability, depression,…

Given the current administration’s focus on deregulation and deep personnel reductions in government agencies, it’s hard not to be concerned about the long-term impact of these actions on safety. It’…

Safety is filled with checklists. Pre-task checklists, equipment checklists, start-up and shut-down checklists to name a few. Unfortunately, it is all too common for people to “pencil whip”…

About 20 years ago I conducted a safety culture assessment for a large paper products company. They had been working hard on improving their safety performance and like many organizations, had…

Discussions of safety culture improvement often focus on senior leaders, which is appropriate since senior leaders are the ones who must define the desired safety culture, set the vision and values…

Increasing cultural diversity is adding a richness to the work world. Immigrants (like many non-immigrants) are often hardworking, loyal employees, however cultural diversity can present safety…

With the improvements in occupational safety over the past two decades, incidents within the workplace have been greatly reduced. Those organizations for which driving is a requirement have found…

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal highlighted a troubling trend on our nation’s airport tarmacs. Safety incidents among ground crew workers are on the rise. The article starts by describing…

The debate about whether developing habits should be a goal in safety has been going on for decades. A recent article in Professional Safety (Making Safety a Mindful Value, Not a Mindless Habit, June…

I recently had the opportunity to do an assessment with a company that is a safety culture exemplar. At ADI, we work with a lot of companies that have sophisticated safety management systems, but…

My colleagues and I have noticed a disturbing trend as we complete surveys and assessments for our clients. A significant number of employees are telling us that skills training has become woefully…

The term “psychological safety” is having a moment. While on the surface it may seem like yet another organizational buzzword, this one has true merit, especially in safety. The term was coined by…

Productivity is a big concern for managers who have people working remotely. Will they actually work as hard as they would in an office? This fear has been called “productivity paranoia.” I recently…