Headspace for the Workplace with Dr. Sally: Helping Leaders Build Human-Centered Workplaces

Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas
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  • Mental Health
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Headspace for the Workplace – A Podcast on How to Cultivate a Vibrant and Psychologically Safe and Healthy Workforce with your host Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas In our brain-based economy, we depend on fully engaged, mentally healthy teams. Organizations that have figured this out not only have a competitive advantage, they are awesome places to work. Take a listen to the lessons learned and actionable take-aways to promote mental health and wellbeing and support people through tough times – at work.

  1. 6d ago

    There's No Panacea for Human: The Power of Connection During Life's Transitions at Work with Nick Freud

    In this episode of Headspace for the Workplace, I sit down with Nick Freud, founder of Fellow Humans - a platform built on a simple but radical idea: the most powerful support a person can receive during a difficult transition isn't clinical expertise. It's lived experience wisdom from someone who has already walked the same path.Nick's journey into this work began when he hit clinical depression while running a successful education business and discovered firsthand how hard it is to reach out for help, even for someone who considers themselves open and authentic. What emerged from that experience was a recognition that most of us are navigating our hardest moments in unnecessary isolation, surrounded by colleagues and communities full of people who have already been through exactly what we're facing and are waiting to be asked.The conversation moves between the personal and the practical: why corporate culture systematically mutes the humanity in our working relationships, what it actually means to make someone feel seen (and why it's different from sympathy), and how leaders who model vulnerability create permission structures that ripple through entire organizations. Dr. Sally and Nick address the three objections leaders most commonly raise - "this isn't a therapy setting," "we'll be held liable," and "people will use it against me" - and offer concrete, low-barrier ways to introduce more human connection into even the most performance-driven workplace cultures. For more information on this episode go to There's No Panacea for Human: The Power of Connection During Life's Transitions at Work — Dr. Sally

    20 min

  2. May 19

    SPECIAL EPISODE: Work-Related Suicide - How Do We Define and Measure Work-Related Suicide?

    This special episode of Headspace for the Workplace is produced in partnership with the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) Workplace Special Interest Group, co-chaired by Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas and Jørgen Gullestrup. It is part of an ongoing series examining work-related suicide - cases where workplace factors contribute, in whole or in part, to a suicide death - a topic that remains critically underdiscussed in most of the world.In this episode, Dr. Sally and Jørgen are joined by Liam O'Brien, Assistant Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), one of the most advanced voices in the world on psychosocial workplace regulation. Australia has recently implemented groundbreaking legal reforms that require employers to identify and control psychosocial hazards and critically, to notify regulators when a suicide or suicide attempt may have been contributed to by workplace factors. These are not wellness programs. They are legally binding safety standards.The conversation covers the architecture of Australia's regulatory framework, the ACTU's Mind Your Head campaign, the hierarchy of controls applied to mental health hazards, the employer education gap, and how the global suicide prevention and occupational health communities can partner to move this agenda forward. It is a fundamental challenge to the dominant narrative in most Western countries. Mental health at work is a personal responsibility and a compelling argument for treating psychological harm as a shared, collective, and legally enforceable workplace duty. For more information on this episode go to https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/headspace/96

    53 min

  3. May 12

    The Cost of the Chase: Can You Build Profit and Protect People?

    In this episode of Headspace for the Workplace, I sit down with Aaron Witt, founder of BuildWitt, a people-first training and development company on a mission to build the construction industry's next generation of leaders. The conversation centers on one of the most persistent tensions in business, especially in high-pressure industries like construction: how do you drive growth, performance, and profit without burning out the very people who make it possible? Aaron brings a grounded, practical perspective shaped by years of working alongside hundreds of world-class leaders across the United States and around the world. His observation is consistent - leaders who take care of themselves first are consistently better equipped to take care of those around them. And teams that build genuine relationships before the chaos hits are far better positioned to weather it together.The episode also digs into the construction industry's complex relationship with grit, a cultural value that fuels extraordinary work but can quietly become self-destructive when it's the only tool in the toolbox. Aaron and I challenge listeners to expand their definition of what it means to be a strong leader, arguing that sustainable performance requires identity, connection, and intentional investment in people, not just grinding through. For more information on this episode go to https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/headspace/95

    21 min

  4. Apr 28

    The Hidden Safety Crisis: Sleep, Mental Health, and Workplace Fatigue

    In this episode of Headspace for the Workplace, I tackle one of the most underestimated safety risks in high-risk industries: sleep deprivation driven by mental health. Drawing on my own experience with sleep disruption and the latest research, I explore how depression, anxiety, trauma, PTSD, and substance use disorders all compromise sleep quality and how that degraded sleep shows up on the job site as impaired judgment, slowed reaction time, emotional dysregulation, and microsleep incidents.Reframing fatigue, not as a personal failing or simply a function of hours worked but as a compounding symptom of unaddressed mental health strain, makes sleep disruption the “canary in the coal mine” for emerging mental health crises. I close with five actionable organizational strategies that move beyond individual sleep tips to address the systemic, design-level changes that actually reduce risk. https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/headspace/94

    21 min

  5. Apr 22

    Soul Exhaustion at Work: How to Protect Your Time, Set Boundaries, and Reclaim Your Well-Being

    In this episode of Headspace for the Workplace, I am joined by my longtime colleague and friend Sarah Gaer to explore a concept that goes deeper than burnout: soul exhaustion. Sarah, co-author of the newly released Soul Exhaustion and Soul Care Workbook (with Cassie Kelly), brings both lived experience and decades of professional expertise to a conversation that is equal parts personal and practical.The episode examines how modern work culture quietly depletes the deepest part of who we are - what Sarah describes as the essence, the spark, the fire within. When that inner flame dims, it doesn't just affect productivity. It affects identity, connection, meaning, and ultimately mental health. Drawing on research interviews conducted in Copenhagen with suicidologists from around the world, Sarah reveals that soul exhaustion (when severe) closely mirrors the language used to describe suicidal despair. This episode moves the mental health conversation at work beyond surface-level wellness programs and into the territory of genuine, sustainable soul care. For more information on this episode go to https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/headspace/93

    16 min

  6. Apr 14

    From Pain to Purpose: How Workplaces Can Support Post-Traumatic Growth with AnneMoss Rogers

    In this episode of Headspace for the Workplace, I am joined by Anne Moss Rogers - a nationally recognized suicide prevention advocate, keynote speaker, and brain tumor survivor who has channeled the devastating loss of her son Charles into a powerful career helping others heal. Charles died by suicide in 2015 at age 20 after struggling with depression, anxiety, and heroin addiction.Together, AnneMoss and I explore one of the most complex and hopeful concepts in mental health: post-traumatic growth. Unlike resilience (returning to baseline), post-traumatic growth describes the positive psychological changes that can emerge after profound trauma. It is not automatic. It requires intention, support, and the courage to move through a painful, messy process.The conversation is honest, warm, and deeply practical. We both speak from lived experience as suicide loss survivors who turned grief into purpose, and we challenge workplace leaders to see profound loss not as a productivity problem, but as a human opportunity for deeper connection, loyalty, and culture-building.For more information on this episode go to https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/headspace/92

    28 min

  7. Apr 7

    Connection Beats Complexity: How Caring Contacts Save Lives at Work with Cheri Skelding

    In this episode of Headspace for the Workplace, I sit down with Cheri Skelding, Clinical Director of Rocky Mountain Crisis Partners, to explore one of the most evidence-backed and underused tools in suicide prevention: caring contacts.Caring contacts are brief, non-demanding outreach moments, such as a text, a voicemail, or a handwritten note, that communicate to someone: “I see you. I’m here. You matter.” Simple as they sound, they carry decades of rigorous research behind them, including randomized controlled trials showing they reduce suicide risk by more than two times for people leaving psychiatric hospitalization.The conversation spans upstream prevention (building belonging before crisis hits), midstream support (reaching out during difficult transitions), and downstream follow-up (what workplaces can do after a mental health emergency). Cheri and I make the case that the most powerful thing an organization can do may not be an expensive program or an elaborate protocol. It may be a two-sentence text message sent at the right moment. For mre information on this episode go to https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/headspace/91

    28 min

  8. Mar 19

    Creating a Tipping Point for Change in Workplace Mental Health and the Manager Multiplier Effect with Laura Putnam

    In this episode of Headspace for the Workplace, I sit down with workplace wellbeing expert Laura Putnam to explore one of the most overlooked drivers of mental health at work: managers.We move beyond traditional mental health approaches—like EAPs and awareness training—and focus on what actually shifts culture: how leaders show up every day. Laura shares why workplace wellbeing is less about fixing individuals and more about improving “the water” employees are swimming in.Together, we unpack two powerful and practical strategies leaders can implement immediately:Creating a “safe harbor” within teamsUnderstanding how leadership style directly impacts mental wellbeingThis conversation is essential for leaders, HR professionals, and organizations committed to building psychologically safe, high-performing workplaces. For more information in this episode go to https://www.sallyspencerthomas.com/headspace/90

    21 min
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About

Headspace for the Workplace – A Podcast on How to Cultivate a Vibrant and Psychologically Safe and Healthy Workforce with your host Dr. Sally Spencer-Thomas In our brain-based economy, we depend on fully engaged, mentally healthy teams. Organizations that have figured this out not only have a competitive advantage, they are awesome places to work. Take a listen to the lessons learned and actionable take-aways to promote mental health and wellbeing and support people through tough times – at work.

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