Our team at Omega Motion in Saltillo, Mississippi, just celebrated 250 days without a recordable injury – a new safety milestone!
They also recently had a contest to name the new safety mascot: Safety Sam.
Safety Sam helps to visually display the key risks in different work areas and promote safer behaviors. This is part of a focus on putting people first and a broader goal to “Drive to Zero” injuries.
Congrats to the entire Omega team!
As a global company, we come from many backgrounds — different cultures, ethnicities, and political systems — but what matters most is how well we work together and treat each other, and we see this every day in our employees around the world.
At L&P, our teams put people first. They are dedicated to prioritizing safety and care for each other, offering learning and development opportunities, demonstrating trustworthiness, and creating an inclusive environment of mutual respect, empathy, and belonging.
We invited a few of our People First Champions — L&P leaders who host local conservations with their co-workers to discuss how we work well together — to share how their teams are putting people first at L&P. Check out what they said in the video below.
Our Adjustable Bed team in Spring Hill, Florida, is prioritizing safety and living out our value of putting people first.
When recognizing that the pneumatic stapler, a tool critical to the manufacturing process, posed a safety risk, the management team met with maintenance. Together they brainstormed, tested, and implemented a safety guard made out of scrap metal from a bed base.
Since using the safety guard, there have been zero accidents with the pneumatic stapler!
“Spring Hill is committed to a safety-first mentality,” says Jeff Nickell, General Manager. “Our motto is safety, quality, and production – in that order. We want to ensure every employee goes home safe each day.”
The team is continuing to innovate safety. They are working to improve the current safety guard design while testing safety prototypes for other tools.
Thanks to the Spring Hill team for prioritizing the safety of our employees and doing great work together!
At Leggett & Platt, we are committed to building a culture of belonging and workplaces where everyone feels that they are accepted for who they are and for what they bring to L&P.
To help us accomplish this, we launched our People First learning series, which is designed to enhance our leadership skills and strengthen inclusion by putting people first—our first company value. After a successful launch in the U.S., we’re excited to announce that People First will be rolled out to our international teams starting this summer.
We are confident that this multi-year, four-module series will help us promote great relationships within our teams at L&P. The first module — INCLUDE — helps us build inclusion in our workplaces by teaching us how to discover commonalities with our coworkers, ensure everyone feels valued and respected, and inspire confidence in one another.
To help facilitate conversations around what these habits look like at work, we created a People First Champion Network. Our People First Champions are L&P leaders who host local conservations with their co-workers to discuss how we work together and how we can make our workplaces better.
We invited a few of our People First Champions to share their experience with the learning series.
The People First learning series is important because it gives everyone a voice. No matter what department you work in, what position you hold, or how many years you’ve been working at L&P, this series provides essential tools to help everyone feel heard and accepted. If we can become better individuals in our workplaces, we can become stronger teams.
Since starting People First at my branch, I’ve seen a positive impact on our communication. We are seeing the benefits of recognizing each other’s strengths and using words of encouragement and affirmation.
We’ve also learned how some of us work differently. Whether this is how each one of us approaches a project, assists customers, or troubleshoots an issue, we have all grown in understanding that we have individual methods that help us thrive. Creating a safe space for different opinions and open dialogue has greatly benefited our daily work.
Abby McWilliams, Administrative Assistant
I think that learning about People First is important because it shows employees that supporting each other and listening to different viewpoints improves teamwork and collaboration. We build better teams by developing better relationships. It also makes us aware that it‘s ok that we are different, and that by sharing certain behaviors, we can thrive and reach higher levels of performance and productivity.
I think that People First actions fit nicely in our branch and reinforce common behaviors that we have developed over the years at Gribetz International. I have been with Gribetz for a while now, and I’m confident management is committed to building an inclusive environment and making People First work. There is a reason why the word “International” is a part of our company name—more than half of our workforce comes from a place other than the U.S., so I think this initiative sends the right message, and it is something we can all relate to.
Jorge Lozan, Facilitator
Our meetings are allowing us to have open and safe dialogue and helping establish basic guidelines that can be summarized as “treat people with respect and the way you would expect to be treated.”
The meeting formats have made interactions between team members more positive and have improved tolerance and understanding. When problems arise, the issues are resolved in a much more collaborative manner.
Everyone should get the opportunity to contribute and should know that they are an important part of our team. Inclusion creates a more dynamic and friendly work environment for everyone, and having everyone’s contributions makes us better.
Mike Dock, General Superintendent
These conversations remind us that, if you include people in daily conversations, diversify team settings for better results, and treat people fairly with equal chances for advancement and promotion, everyone will benefit. This sounds basic, but in the sometimes-hectic world we live and work in, these simple and effective approaches are easily overlooked.
These techniques have brought me closer to my crew, and I believe they are more comfortable coming to me with issues and ideas to improve our workplace. I feel that the first conversations we’ve had have already led to greater communication in our branch.
Perry Lobitz, Production Supervisor
While June is National Safety Month, at L&P, our top priority each day is ensuring the care and safety of our team members. We value putting people first, and that starts with our leaders listening to our teams and working together to create a better, safer Leggett.
Recently, leaders visited several branches to conduct safety focus groups and listen to our teams on how we can improve safety processes in our facilities.
“Our branch and employees were honored and impressed to see the support and appreciation from the executive team,” said Mary Estrada, EHS Manager at Ennis Spring. “They showed gratitude to our partners by being present and listening to their concerns. They had very constructive conversations and showed that they truly care about our people and their safety.”
June is Pride Month! Around the world, people are coming together to commemorate and celebrate LGBTQ+ activism and culture.
At L&P, we strive to create a culture where everyone feels safe to be their authentic selves and accepted for who they are. Today and every day, we want you to know that you belong here.
Happy Pride from L&P!
Pride Month is also a time to advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. At L&P, we made a contribution to The Trevor Project—the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ youth. Because they are often stigmatized in society, LGBTQ+ youth have an increased risk of dying by suicide when compared to their peers.
Interested in learning more about Pride Month? Check out the following resources:
Throughout the month of June, we’re spotlighting safety and belonging at L&P!
Our employees are at the heart of everything we do, and we’re committed to fostering a workplace culture that is safe, both physically and psychologically, for everyone. We want all of our employees to bring their authentic selves to work and feel heard, seen, and valued.
During the next few weeks, we’ll share about how our teams are promoting safety and belonging at work.
Throughout the month of May, we’re sharing mental health resources and tips. This week, we’re spotlighting mindfulness—a tool that can help us cope with and reduce feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression.
Mindfulness is the practice of being intentionally aware of what’s happening within and around us. It’s paying attention to our thoughts, feelings, bodies, and surroundings. When we practice mindfulness, we have an opportunity to accept the thoughts, feelings, and sensations that we experience without attaching labels — like “good,” “bad,” “right,” or “wrong” — to them.
Mindfulness can improve our mental health. When we are anchored to the present moment, we tend to spend less time worrying about the future or dwelling on the past. Studies show that regularly practicing mindfulness can reduce stress, increase our ability to focus, make us more resilient, increase happiness and joy, and help us cultivate self-compassion and compassion towards others.
Mindfulness can be practiced anytime, anywhere, and while doing anything. If you’re interested in trying mindfulness, check out these common exercises:
“Less Stress, More Happiness: How Mindfulness Can Combat Stress.” Healthy E-Living Blog, 12 Apr. 2021, www.chestercountyhospital.org/news/health-eliving-blog/2021/april/how-mindfulness-can-combat-stress.
“Mindfulness Defined.” Greater Good Magazine, The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/mindfulness/definition.
Today, we remember those who lost their lives while serving in the United States military. We are grateful for their service and dedication to securing our freedom.
Throughout the month of May, we’re sharing mental health resources and tips. This week, we’re spotlighting strategies for coping with the Sunday scaries.
With the weekend approaching, many of us are ready to relax and set aside work until Monday. But, when Sunday rolls around, many people experience apprehension that comes from anticipating a new work week. You may know this feeling as the Sunday scaries.
According to research, the Sunday scaries typically creep in around 3:58 PM on Sunday and last throughout the evening. Fortunately, there are strategies to make the transition from the weekend to work a little easier. Check out these three tips:
Good, Candace. “How to Beat the Sunday Scaries.” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, LLC, 23 Sept. 2021, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/own-your-present/202109/how-beat-the-sunday-scaries.
“What Are the ‘Sunday Scaries’?” Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, 8 Dec. 2021, https://health.clevelandclinic.org/sunday-scaries/.