Nicole Stempak

1 week ago | ehstoday.com | Nicole Stempak

This week was National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction Week. I hope you had the opportunity to do some additional training. If not, there’s no time like the present!It’s quite revelatory—and humbling—to realize you have the power to affect change. I have been reminded that sometimes the best thing to do is simply get started. After all, we’re all figuring it out as we go along, anyway.

2 weeks ago | ehstoday.com | Nicole Stempak

I learned a new word, and I want it to be my mantra from here on out (or at least the summer). Insouciance (in-SOO-see-unss) is a formal word that refers to a feeling of carefree unconcern, according to Merriam-Webster. There’s a lot going on in the world right now, and there’s a lot of unsafe workplaces, neither of which lend themselves to embracing an attitude of insouciance. But that’s precisely why I, and perchance you, need to be more carefree—at least when we’re off the clock.

2 weeks ago | ehstoday.com | Nicole Stempak

Each day, a majority of Americans go to work. To put food on the table. To put a roof over their head. To provide a better life for their loved ones. Despite the requirements outlined in the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, too many workers still don't have a safe workplace. The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (National COSH) calls out unsafe working conditions in their annual compliation of the most dangerous employers, the Dirty Dozen.

3 weeks ago | ehstoday.com | Nicole Stempak

April is drawing to a close, and I’m not sure how I feel about it. The one thing I know for sure is that the month has been full of literal and figurative growth. There have been so, so many highs—and so, so many lows. I have been challenged in ways I didn’t expect (or want), and I have been rewarded with gifts I never could’ve imagined. Most days, we are toiling in the weeds and don’t have the capability or capacity to take a step back and see the fruits of our labor.

4 weeks ago | ehstoday.com | Nicole Stempak

Yesterday, I had the sheer pleasure of watching two squirrels playing in my backyard. For a few minutes, all my worries faded away. I laughed. I felt refreshed, like I had just taken a nap. The world continues to be heavy. I hear it in a few of my friends’ voices. I see it in the headlines. I watch it in the way strangers treat strangers. Those squirrels reminded me to lean into joy. I’m rereading a favorite book. I’m sending greeting cards and calling friends. I’m baking Rice Krispie treats.