The document describes a "Take a Break & Think" pilot program aimed at increasing employee mindfulness, safety awareness, and well-being. The program involves site group leads giving employees a Kit Kat candy bar and encouraging them to take a break when feeling rushed or overwhelmed. Pre- and post-pilot surveys showed the program improved safety culture and communication, with fewer employees feeling safety wasn't taken seriously or made fun by environmental health and safety teams. The program also correlated with a large increase in near miss incident reporting across participating sites. Overall results indicated the program successfully boosted morale and safety awareness.

1. Take a
Break&Think
Tricia Gunn
9 September 2016

2. Abstract
The purpose of the program is to increase the mindfulness of the employees while they engage in a
task. If an employee is feeling rushed, distracted, or over-worked, the program will hopefully ground
the employee by increasing their awareness. The group leads in office settings, at each respective
site, will engage with the employee, give them a Kit Kat, and reinforce them to "take a break &
think." Anticipating byproducts from the program such as: involving non-EHS staff with EHS
activities, and encouraging fluid lines of communication between employees, group leads, and
management will expectantly emerge.
The "Take a Break & Think" pilot program will improve the safety culture within our
departments and our company. The objective of the program is to test the feasibility of a
multicomponent pilot intervention to improve worker safety, morale, and overall wellness. The pilot
itself, will include the Lab Services departments at the HPW, CTR, and LVL sites. The committee
will access the results from a pre-pilot anonymous survey. The survey will gage employees’ safety
awareness at the present time, how genuine the employees grasp safety, and their current thoughts
on safety relative to enjoyment. The post-pilot survey will take into account and capture the
awareness of the pilot program, near miss accounts, and communication between management and
employees.

3. Pilot survey CTR, HPW, LVL
1. Do you take safety seriously at work?
Strongly
disagree
0%
Disagree
0%
Neutral
3%
Agree
19%
Strongly
Agree
78%
Pre-pilot Survey
Strongly
disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
disagree
0%
Disagree
0%
Neutral
3%
Agree
8%
Strongly
Agree
89%
Post-Pilot Survey
Strongly
disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
19% Positive Trend

4. Pilot survey CTR, HPW, LVL
2. Safety is made fun by E.H.S.?
Strongly
disagree
32%
Disagree
18%
Neutral
32%
Agree
18%
Strongly
Agree
0%
Pre-pilot Survey
Strongly
disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Strongly
disagree
15%
Disagree
8% Neutral
50%
Agree
15%Strongly
Agree
12%
Post-Pilot Survey
Strongly
disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Negative perception
decreased from 50% to
23%

5. Pilot survey CTR, HPW, LVL
3.Certain safety slogans by E.H.S., stand out in my head.
Strongly
disagree
9%
Disagree
19%
Neutral
28%
Agree
25%
Strongly
Agree
19%
Pre-pilot Survey
Strongly
disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Strongly
disagree
3%
Disagree
8%
Neutral
29%
Agree
44%
Strongly
Agree
16%
Post-Pilot Survey
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
16% positive
trend reflecting
cognizant safety
slogans

6. Pilot survey CTR, HPW, LVL
4. I stop and take a break when I am feeling rushed or
over-worked.
Strongly
disagree
4%
Disagree
26%
Neutral
11%
Agree
29%
Strongly
Agree
30%
Pre-pilot Survey
Strongly
disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Strongly
disagree
3%
Disagree
7%
Neutral
24%
Agree
38%
Strongly
Agree
28%
Post-Pilot Survey
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly Agree
7% increase in
positive trend
20% decrease
regarding
disagreement

7. Pilot survey CTR, HPW, LVL
5. I believe making safety “enjoyable” would be a morale
team booster.
Strongly
disagree
0%
Disagree
0%
Neutral
19%
Agree
22%
Strongly
Agree
59%
Pre-pilot Survey
Strongly
disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Strongly
disagree
3%
Disagree
0%
Neutral
19%
Agree
23%
Strongly
Agree
55%
Post-Pilot Survey
Strongly
disagree
Disagree
Neutral
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Trend remained stable
between 78-81%
favorability

8. Worthy of Consideration
 Account-wide, Lab Services accounted for 8% of near miss entries from
January through April 2016.
 Since the launch of the pilot program (16 May to 15 Aug. 2016), Lab
Services participating sites accounted for 25% of total near miss entries
across the account.
 As illustrated, the data revealed commendatory results.
 “Workplace fun positively impacts key performance indicators which can
result in increased employee morale, higher creativity and innovation,
better performance, greater organizational commitment, and lower
turnover.” Prior, M.G. (2010). Workplace Fun and Its Correlates: A
Conceptual Inquiry. International Journal of Management (Vol.27, No.2).