Latest MTI perspective says transit industry needs to address human infrastructure of U.S. transportation safety systems

The latest Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) perspective says the transit industry needs to address the human infrastructure of the U.S. transportation safety systems.

The perspective, Reinforcing the Human Infrastructure of our Nation’s Transportation System, explores the issue by synthesizing the results of a recent expert panel discussion that underscores the need for greater attention to mindfulness, psychological safety and emotional well-being in industry workplaces. 

According to the perspective, in 2022, the U.S. Surgeon General released a new framework for mental health and well-being in the workplace that shows 76 percent of U.S workers reported at least one symptom of a mental health condition and 84 percent of respondents said their workplace conditions had contributed to at least one mental health challenge. The perspective digs into the discussion from a panel of leading experts from Harvard and Yale, mindfulness practitioners and transportation safety professionals convened at the 2023 American Psychological Association’s Work, Stress and Health conference. The panel offers the following for consideration by policymakers and safety leaders: 

• Development of peer-to-peer influencing skills that improve social intelligence and conflict management. 
• Leadership emotional intelligence training that fosters psychologically safe work environments that ensure employees feel comfortable speaking up.  
• Integration of mindfulness practices into day-to-day work practices that supports employee’s awareness, empathy, openness, humility and resilience to stress. 
• Psychologically safe onboarding processes that welcome newcomers into an environment that supports speaking up and interpersonal risk-taking. 
• Team building that helps foster agile self-improvement-oriented teams for improved organizational functioning, especially in high-hazard environments. 
• Continuous learning and development that weaves psychological safety and emotional intelligence into the fabric of the organization across time. 

“Even in the short term, toxic work environments and negative emotional contagion can be devastating to mental health, physical health, job performance and safety. Over the long term, they can create a culture of such pervasive toxicity that it may affect public safety and the economic viability of our transportation systems,” said Dr. Karen Philbrick, one of the experts on the panel, who went on to explain the role of toxic work environments in transportation catastrophes investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board. 

The perspective notes that neglect of the human infrastructure of the U.S. transportation safety systems can have a serious negative impact on the U.S.’s safety, security and economic viability. 

The full report can be seen here.