Worker Wellness News Archives | Page 2 of 20

Wellness & Well-being Highlights February 24th

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of Feb 24, 2025

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog looks at why Mexican drug cartels are now labeled as Terrorist organizations—to how cuts in Washington DC are hurting Vets and farmers—to how drones are being used to deliver medical “supplies” in emergency situations. This week I would like to take this opportunity to discuss the need to address Mental Health in our schools.

The 1^st article that caught my eye this week involves a counseling program for students in the University of Missouri’s veterinary program.¹ The author of the aforementioned article indicates that several veterinarian and medical school programs have experimented with embedding counseling services in their doctoral programs but not much data exist to suggest that doing this—known as an intervention—has a positive impact. Enter MU researchers…who designed a study that looked at over 400 vet students from 2016-24. Their findings suggest that “veterinary trainees who took advantage of embedded counseling services reported improvements in psychological distress…” (e.g., depression, anxiety, academic distress, eating concerns and substance use). In addition, they noted that “embedded counseling programs may enable veterinary students to manage their personal and academic challenges” (i.e., financial stress, chronic health issues and traumatic experiences).

Which leads me to the 2^nd article that examines the need for ~100k Mental Health professionals in our nation’s K-12 schools…possibly a result of the COVID pandemic.² When it comes to counselors, psychologists, social workers, and therapists, one expert interviewed posits “while demand is going up, supply is going down.” This author notes that one principal had an opening for a school psychologist posted for 1 year without a response. This led him to becoming creative. Wherein, he recruited a nearly-completed social worker student under an emergency license provision. With most traditional MH pathways requiring at least 6 years of schooling, more options must be examined. The recommended ratio for MH professional to students is 1:250. While some schools meet this criterion, most do not! As a matter of fact, the national average is 1:1157. To be sure, caution must be taken when approaching this dilemma. 1) MH issues cannot be left to ill-properly trained people. 2) Task-shifting may result in lessening the attractiveness of these professions…not to mention the salaries involved.

These matters impact all of us! How is your industry, company, organization, etc. addressing the MH needs of your workers? After all, some of those K-12 students in systems with 1:600 ratios eventually become your employees.

Sources: [1] https://showme.missouri.edu/2025/do-embedded-counseling-services-in-veterinary-education-work-a-new-study-says-yes/

[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2023/08/31/mental-health-crisis-students-have-third-therapists-they-need/

Creating a supportive work environment

Schools & MH Staff Shortages

Myths about Weed

On Treating Fentanyl: Bupe

An “ice rink” to fight opioids crisis?

Mexican Cartels labeled as Terrorists

China / Mexico / Money Laundering

Divorce / China / Abuse

Microplastics & Your Brain

Narcissists & Social Pain

Veterinary Programs & Counseling

Recognizing & Treating PTSD

Plan Your Day Around Shifting Moods

Fatigue & Grieving

Sleep: Women vs Men

Travel & Assisted Dying

The Favorite Child

Doctors / MH / Licensing

Romans / Lead Coins / Lower IQ

Football tied to Another CTE Victim

NHL / Bobby Hull / CTE

Women in Construction

AL: The deadliest workplace in America

USA: Moving towards Autocracy

US-AID cuts impact US Farmers

Vets: Cuts hamper VA

Is US Govt’s word Good?

H2-B Visas: Wage vs Worker Shortage

Is GOP warming to Unions?

GOP: Pro-Union or Pro-Worker?

Pick to head US-DOL…a turncoat?

Labor Secretary Nominee & PRO Act…

Keeling nominated to head OSHA

NLRB retracts Biden-era enforcements

What’s next for Ed Dept?

DOGE & Wasteful Spending

How NOT to lead Org Change

Fed Employees Fighting Back

Wellness & Well-being Highlights February 17th

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of Feb 17, 2025

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog looks at how a doctor in Africa created a Peer Support model to address Mental Health issues—to a series of articles exploring the dangers of gambling…more specifically, sports betting—to how cuts in Washington, DC may negatively impact research…more specifically, cancer research. This week I would like to take this opportunity to touch on Missouri Senate Bill 74.¹

While SB 74 mainly would bar cities and counties from imposing their own open carry restrictions, in my opinion, any attempt to lessen gun restrictions poses danger for those in crisis. Consider this: Over the past 20 years, Missouri has seen a ~60% increase in suicide deaths.² This rate was greater than that of the US during this timeframe. Since gun-related suicides have made up over 50% of those deaths, we should take any and all precautions to keep our citizens safe from self-harm. As a matter of fact, “…in 2020, gun-related suicides surpassed poisoning and suffocation for the first time among women, and have continued to rise since then.”³ One way to move these numbers in the opposite direction is to limit the access to firearms. Awareness and education do NOT seem to be enough!

To this end, St. Louis University will be holding a seminar on this very topic on Friday (Feb 21).⁴To be clear, this event does NOT solely focus on restricting access to firearms. Based on the CALM (Conversations on the Access to Lethal Means) training model, this SAFER training session will address how you and I can take actions to reduce the access to a multitude of lethal means…including but not limited to medications, sharp objects, bridge netting, etc. Come join us in becoming part of the solution vs remaining part of the problem!

Sources: [1]https://www.stlpr.org/government-politics-issues/2025-02-11/missouri-senators-consider-removing-several-firearm-restrictions

[2] https://usafacts.org/answers/how-many-people-die-by-suicide/state/missouri/

[3]https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/26/well/mind/suicide-guns-women.html

[4]https://billpay.slu.edu/C20197_ustores/web/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCTID=2471

Community Peer Support: The Friendship Bench

First Responders / Stress / Burnout

Addressing Chronic Illness @ Work

Wellness & Well-being Highlights February 10th

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of Feb 10, 2025

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog looks at the experiences of a handful of US Veterans who attended a psychedelic retreat for their PTSD—to which vice is more harmful: booze or weed—to which construction sectors may be winners or losers under the 2^nd Trump administration. This week I would like to take this opportunity to examine Congressman Biggs’ (AZ) effort to repeal the Occupational Safety & Health Administration Act of 1970 calling to “nullify” it…thus, NOSHA.

While this may serve as a cute play on words, there is NOTHING cute about exposing workers to unsafe working conditions. Make no mistake, this law was actually established under a Republican administration. Then, as now, OSHA serves to protect workers (mainly) in the private sector. To suggest that this agency is part of so-called government bloat and/or is another example of government overreach, is nothing more than an attempt to deflect the real issue at hand: protecting workers vs corporate greed. Furthermore, it is a moot point to insinuate that states can do a better job of protecting their workers since nearly ½ of the states already have state-OSHA approved plans. Note: “The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 allows states to administer their own job safety and health programs, but they must meet the minimum federal requirements.” Simply put, if states seek to oversee job safety, they MUST do so in a manner that meets or exceeds the federal standard!

In closing, it never ceases to amaze me how elected officials claim to represent their constituents while ignoring historical facts. OSHA was created after a series of workplace disasters over 50 years ago. To this end, Congressman Biggs, how does ‘allowing the fox to guard the henhouse’ serve the needs of your state’s workers? As noted in the article linked below: “Without OSHA, many workers will be left vulnerable to unsafe conditions, and it will be the most vulnerable—low-income and minority workers—who will bear the brunt of dangerous rollbacks.”

Source: https://www.newsweek.com/republican-calls-scrap-workplace-safety-agency-2025932

USA: Wealthy & Unhappy

OH OD Deaths Declining

How Fentanyl Crosses US Borders

Trump / China / Opioids & Tariffs

China & Fentanyl

US Vets / PSTD / Psychedelic Retreat

Treatment & Relapsing

Addiction / Impact / Brain

Addiction & MH Pandemic

More Harmful: Booze or Weed?

Illegal Cannabis & Consumers

Vaping Weed?

Dry January & Cannabis Drinks

MO / THC / Beverage Law?

Obesity Drugs & Compounding Pharmacies

Wellness & Well-being Highlights February 3rd

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of February 3rd, 2025

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog looks at advice on how to create a more healthy and productive workplace—to news on a non-addictive alternative to opioid painkillers—to a new AI model from China that has seemingly upset the US applecart. This week I would like to take this opportunity to honor those who were victims of Nazi concentration camps, in particular, Auschwitz—as we celebrate their 75^th anniversary of liberation.

The article linked below makes a case for us to compare and contrast what transpired ¾ of a century ago with recent current events. As such, one of the few remaining victims said the following:

“More and more we seem to be having trouble connecting our historical knowledge with our moral choices today.”

Meanwhile the author goes on to note, “Toxic political rhetoric and attacks directed at groups of peoples — using language to dehumanize them — that were once considered taboo have become common across the world’s democracies.”

Their concerns are my concerns. It seems as more and more of these Holocaust victims pass on, our memories fade. My father—like many of yours—enlisted to fight in WWII just after graduating high school. Overcoming an evil despot was more important to him than pursuing a MLB career. He paid a dear price and so did his family. The injuries he sustained in France would haunt him until his untimely death in 1974 at the age of 48.

In closing, please ponder the words of a 96-year-old Auschwitz survivor:

“I fear that over time, it will become easier to distort history. I cannot say it will never happen again, because when you look at some leaders of today, those dangerous ambitions, pride and sense of being better than others are still at play. Who knows where they can lead.” In a world where truth and facts are constantly challenged by false and deceptive narratives, one must take an active role in ensuring “NEVER AGAIN.”

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/25/world/europe/auschwitz-liberation-75th-anniversary.html?unlocked_article_code=1.sU4.yCLg.Xe23ZVUNYLsJ&smid=url-share

Auschwitz (75 Years)

Psychological Safety

4 Pillars: Healthy & Productive Workplace

7 Keys to Aging Well

Ear Muscle & Hearing Aids

Non-addictive option to Opioids?

Non-Opioid Painkiller

Sober Living Fraud & Deaths

Maine / Prison / Treating OUD

Socialization: Rx for Loneliness? (1)

Socialization: Rx for Loneliness? (2)

Wellness & Well-being Highlights January 27th

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of Jan 27, 2025

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog looks at how the Sacklers get a second bite at the “opioids settlement” apple—to how sleep/diet/oral health impact one’s mental health—to the +/- of how K-12 school systems are utilizing technology in their classrooms. This week I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on the national spotlight activities of the past week and how history tends to repeat itself.

Terms like oligarchy and gilded age have popped up in the press several times since the 2024 presidential election. A concentration of power and wealth in a few is something this nation dealt with in the late 1800s-early 1900s. Names like Morgan, Rockefeller, and Carnegie controlled entire industries. Thanks to the Sherman Anti-Trust Act their reign was brought under control for the benefit of the many vs the few! Well, this past Monday, our nation was exposed to a revival of this reign when billionaires like Musk, Bezos, and Zuck were strategically seated on stage at Trump’s inauguration.

It is too early to tell what influence that the mega-rich might have on our nation as a whole in this new era. After all, some of the aforementioned recently resided in the Biden camp. Nonetheless, in times of danger (i.e., 9/11), we were told: If you see something, say something! It would be naive to think that money does not influence politicians’ leanings. For if this was true, an entire group of people—lobbyists—may no longer be employed. As with most aspects in our lives, an issue like technology can be viewed as good or bad. Just think how nice it is to have a cell phone when one has a flat tire. However, that same wonderful device can be used for the sex trafficking of underage kids. To this end, over the next few months, it will be incumbent upon ALL of us to have open minds and watchful eyes…but more importantly, if you see something, say something!

Sources: https://www.npr.org/2025/01/22/nx-s1-5269779/oligarchy-is-being-used-more-to-describe-american-society-we-ask-one-professor-why

https://wapo.st/4hugwUe

Natural Disasters & MH

Peer Support: Teen Helping Teens

Surviving Cancer

Tea & Coffee / Head & Neck Cancer

AI / MH / Workplace

Sacklers / Opioids Settlement / Round 2 (1)

Sacklers / Opioids Settlement / Round 2 (2)

Supporting Workers in Addiction Recovery

Aging / Mental Health / Caregiving Strain

Wellness & Well-being Highlights January 20th

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of Jan 20, 2025

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog looks at how OSHA will soon be requiring better fitting PPE—to tips on improving your sleep and taking naps—to how Costco has taken a stand against purging DEI. This week I would like to take this opportunity to tip my hat to a longtime friend and colleague, Sal Valadez. Sal has worked for LiUNA at the regional level for several years now. Most importantly, he has been a champion for minorities in the construction workforce and the communities where we live and serve. To this end, he was instrumental in the design, development, and implementation of the document linked below.

For the past decade+, Sal’s voice at a number of tables across our region ensured that minorities—of ALL stripes—were not left behind. As such, a few years back, he took the lead with ECORN-MO (Ethnic Communities Opioid Response Network – Missouri) and tackled a project that would make certain that ALL people have access to information regarding opioid use disorder at the neighborhood levels. On more than one occasion, I personally observed Sal in action speaking to a variety of concerned citizens, workers, business owners, etc. Whether it was a Muslim Cleric, Construction Contractor, or a University Researcher, he found ways to connect and reassure those people he would include their voice.

To say that Sal is a unicorn would be an understatement. Make no mistake, his upbringing molded his views of the world where kindness and a big heart made others feel at ease being around him. This was key in the connections he cultivated. I recently heard that Sal may soon be retiring. This, my friends, will leave a void…just about the time we started to make some positive headway concerning diversity, equity, and inclusion in an economic sector that has historically been dominated by white males.

To Sal: best wishes in your next chapter!

To you: Who out there will fill Sal’s shoes?

Source: https://attcnetwork.org/prevention-of-opioid-use-education-materials/

MHA: Take a Mental Health Test

Gen Z / Holistic Health / Employers

Managing Serious Health Care in America

COVID @ 5: What’s Next?

Emotion Therapy

PTSD Myths

OSHA & Proper PPE

Construction MH: Know Your People

Industries Supporting MH

Employers / MH / Burnout

Your Mouth & MH

Kids’ MH Chatbot

Non-addictive Painkiller?

OUD & Multi-Language Resources

Update: Sacklers Opioids Settlement

Scams / Addiction / Death

Alcohol Misuse / Recovery / Naltrexone

Wellness & Well-being Highlights January 13th

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of Jan 13th, 2024

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog looks at a couple of outgoing messages regarding building stronger connections and communities from the US Surgeon General—to a couple of tips for keeping to your 2025 exercise-related resolutions—to why learning American Sign Language has the potential to make us better communicators. This week I would like to take this opportunity to review recent comments made by former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich about Trump’s upcoming second term (Full disclosure: I served under Reich in the first term of the Clinton Administration on the NAALC (US National Advisory Committee on the labor side agreement to the NAFTA)).

In his essay, we are asked to protect these 4 major pillars of resistance:

Universities

Watch for attempts to discredit regional accreditation bodies

Non-profits

Watch for misleading information linking activism to terrorism

The Media

Watch for attempts to intimidate outlets with “sanewashing” untruths

Organized Labor

Watch for increased opposition to organizing the unorganized.

I encourage each of you to read Reich’s work linked below. And, “remember: We only lose if we stop fighting.” Thank you!

Source: https://robertreich.substack.com/p/how-trump-is-seeking-to-destroy-the?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=ely0o&triedRedirect=true

US Surgeon General / Holidays / Loneliness

US Surgeon General on Stronger Communities

Social Isolation Assessment

Dark Side of Military

Fire / Smoke / Air Quality

Wellness & Well-being Highlights January 6th

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of Jan 6th, 2024

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog looks at why Gen Z struggles in the workplace—to a variety of articles on the dangers of alcohol and what is a “Dry vs Damp” January—to mix of articles covering how proper sleep, exercise, and breathing are good for one’s Mental Health. This week I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt condolences to the family of Jimmy Carter—the 39^th US President—who passed away this past week at the age of 100.

As a student of organizational leadership, I always admired Abraham Lincoln. After all, he led a divided country through a very tumultuous period. As the ultimate unifier, I will always consider him the greatest president while in office. However, when it comes to the greatest president after one’s term in office, I cannot think of a better role model than Jimmy Carter.

Whether it was advancing human rights, fighting global diseases, building homes for the needy, or intervening in and consulting on another country’s affairs (sometimes not appreciated by that period’s current US administration) former President Carter spoke his mind…backed by the wisdom that comes from years of experience as an officer, farmer, businessman, Sunday School Teacher, and governor. While in office he brokered the Camp David Accords (1978) as well as created the US Departments of Education and Energy. For the sake of this blog, most importantly, Jimmy Carter took a positive stand on Mental Health as noted below…and, for this, I am grateful!

Shortly after assuming office in early 1977, Jimmy Carter created a presidential commission on mental health. His action suggested the existence of deep-rooted problems in a mental health system that was fragmented, lacked cohesion, and often failed to meet the needs of many groups, notably those individuals with severe and persistent mental illnesses. The creation of such a commission also had an important symbolic element, for it indicated the president’s awareness and concern.

The provisions of the Mental Health Systems Act reflected the ambiguities and contradictions that had been characteristic of mental health policy during the preceding two decades. The act reaffirmed the priority for community mental health services, particularly for such underserved groups as individuals with chronic mental illnesses, children and youth, the elderly, ethnic and racial minorities, women, the poor, and rural residents. It emphasized planning and accountability and mandated “performance contracts” as a condition for federal funding, the creation of new intergovernmental relationships, and closer links between the mental health and the general health care systems.

Source: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2690151/

Happy 2025: Re-thinking Your Resolutions

The Secret to Happiness

Gen Z / Workplace / Struggles

Burnout / Culture / Thriving

Flexible Work & Burnout

Brain Health Quiz (Depression/Dementia)

2025 Brain Health Advice

Brits / Ukraine / Battle Stress

First Responders & Psilocybin Retreats

MO / Cannabis / Public Health

Outrunning Schizophrenia?

Wellness & Well-being Highlights December 30

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of Dec 30, 2024

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog looks at how Mexico is bracing for a possible US Military intervention following the 2025 US President’s inauguration—to how US homelessness increased in 2024—to a report on H-2B visas (The H-2B visa program was established to help U.S. businesses fill labor temporary shortages, especially during peak production periods…in non-ag jobs) status according to each state. This week I would like to take this opportunity to shed some light on the withdrawal of the US-DOL’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding Registered Apprenticeship Programs (RAPs) on Jan 17, 2024.

To refresh your memory, the US-DOL’s Office of Apprenticeship (OA)—early in 2024—opened the process to revise/update 29CFR29 and 29CFR30…the standards that govern RAPs. Among several other issues, “they sought to enhance worker protections and equity, improving the quality of registered apprenticeship programs….” During the “open comment” period that lasted through mid-March, the US-DOL received over 2100 comments of which 333 were unique comments while 22 were duplicates or not related to the subject of this rulemaking. If you recall, nearly one year ago, I kindly asked our readers to weigh in on the importance of including the subject of “Mental Health” as a mandatory training requirement for all RAPs going forward…more on this later!

Below is a brief summary of their findings:

The Department broadly notes that the breadth and diversity of stakeholders commenting, as well as the unique perspectives provided, is a testament to the strength and growth of the registered apprenticeship model overall as a solution to America’s workforce needs across a wide range of industries. The Department believes that the dialogue spurred by the NPRM demonstrates a need for a robust and modernized approach to registered apprenticeship with more clearly defined roles and responsibilities, more points of entry, and improved accessibility for employers to join or register programs and for job seekers to become apprentices in those programs….

By withdrawing the proposed rule, the Department is eliminating the pending nature of this rulemaking. The Department intends to engage with all interested parties to discuss and consider future enhancements and impacts for the quality and expansion of registered apprenticeship and the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders in the National Apprenticeship System….

However, not all was lost in the process of making sausage! As noted above, the US-DOL did find a means to provide RAPs with a cup “half-full” when it came to the issue of providing Mental Health trainings. To this end, I was contacted by OA staff in Q1-2024 and asked to assist them in the development of 2 micro-videos for their learning library concerning Mental Health for Apprentices (Well-being) and What Sponsors need to know (Wellness). As noted earlier in this blog, these 2 videos were launched in Q3-2024 (See links below) for more information and PLEASE share as you see fit.

US-DOL OA’s Mental Health for Pre-Apprentices & Apprentices
Prioritizing Your Mental Health and Well-being
US-DOL OA’s Mental Health for Sponsors (Contractors, Unions, JATCs, etc.)
Promoting Worker Mental Health and Wellness

Source: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2024-12-27/pdf/2024-31078.pdf?utm_campaign=subscription+mailing+list&utm_medium=email&utm_source=federalregister.gov

Protecting US Miners & Taxpayers

Therapy Dogs / Doctors-Nurses / Trauma

States / Failures / ADA

Cocaine’s rise in EU

Teens / Pot / Dabbing

US Guns Fuel Mexico’s Drug Trade

Mexico / Drug Cartels / US Military

How Mexican Cartels Test Fentanyl

FDA Targets Edible Mushrooms

Wellness & Well-being Highlights December 23

Wellness & Well-being Highlights

for the

Week of Dec 23, 2024

This week’s edition of our Worker Wellness & Well-being blog looks at how a new KC program, REACH, is steering people with Mental Health and SUD issues towards care providers in an attempt to divert them from the criminal justice system—to how pharmacy benefit managers may have played a key role in the US opioids crisis—to how AI is being misused to exploit innocent (often underage) victims. This week I would like to take this opportunity to shed some light on an old behavior with a new name: Cancer Ghosting.¹Basically, this is when someone you know and love informs you of their cancer diagnosis…and, you, in turn, avoid ANY contact with him/her from that point forward. Thus, isolating the cancer victim from his/her support network and possibly causing more damage than the cancer itself!

When I heard this story on NPR earlier this week, I could not help but think of how this concept somewhat applied to me (and my family) after the loss of our oldest son, John Jr, to suicide in March 2017. To be sure, soon thereafter, we would encounter a few long-time friends from the area in the grocery store only for them to do a 180 and high-tail it to another portion of the store in order to avoid contact with us. In general, experts suggests that this behavior is related to those people not knowing what to say or having the fear of saying the wrong thing. If you fall into this category, please take Megan Devine’s advice. She wrote a book on grief a few years back (It’s OK that You’re Not OK) and in the appendix she addressed how to help a grieving friend (What to / not to say). In her words, “Acknowledgement helps make things better even when they cannot be made right.”²

This brings me to my latest research on Suicide Postvention in the Construction Industry. There was a point this fall where I received 8 phone calls over a 12-week period regarding suicides (attempts or deaths). For years now, I have been contemplating why are there so many Suicide Prevention and Suicide Intervention programs available but hardly any focused on Suicide Postvention…especially for the Construction Industry and in, what I call, the First 48 (hours) also known as the acute phase. Those 8 calls moved me to take action. In fact, I just wrapped up the survey phase and am about to enter the interview phase. Hopefully, late spring/early summer of 2025 I will have completed the study and will share a report/action plan with our readers. One thing you can be sure of is that I will definitely address the phenomenon of ghosting during that acute phase of Suicide Postvention…which I will appropriately name it ghostvention!

Sources: [1]https://www.npr.org/2024/12/18/nx-s1-5179011/cancer-ghosting-survivorship-young-survivors [2] https://refugeingrief.com/videos/how-to-help-a-grieving-friend-the-animation

KC’s New MH program

OSHA / PPE Rule / Jan 13

Construction Fatalities Rose in 2023

Opioids Settlement Fund’s Database

PBM’s role in the Opioids Crisis

A Dangerous Substitute for Narcan