COVID-19 and mental wellbeing

Governments and the media have provided information on how to stay physically safe during the pandemic, but guidance on looking after our mental wellbeing has been less visible. Unfortunately, the actions taken to stay physically safe, such as isolation and physical distancing, may be having a harmful effect on our mental health. Research on previous disasters shows that they create a long shadow of mental health issues, trailing the disaster by months or years. Although vaccines are available for the coronavirus, there is no vaccine to support mental wellbeing. In addition to the effects on individuals, mental health issues can have a significant impact on human reliability in the workplace. This article provides eight tips to maintain or improve your mental wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Human factors and Homer Simpson

What is human factors? Do you have difficulty explaining the topic to others? And what value does human factors add? This article examines the factors that might influence a control room operator's behaviour (Homer Simpson) and how we might improve his human reliability. These 'Performance Influencing Factors' are key to optimising human performance. The post provides a definition of human factors: "making it easy for Homer to do the right thing".

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