Navigating uncertainty in age of disruption

From artificial intelligence to geopolitical instability and economic volatility, today’s workplace leaders are navigating a level of disruption rarely seen before. For safety professionals, the challenge is not only keeping pace with rapid change but ensuring that the wellbeing of workers remains at the center of organizational decisions.

To explore how safety leaders can navigate this new landscape, we sat down with Sukhi Dhillon, Senior Director of Environment, Health, Safety and Quality (EHSQ) at Carmichael Engineering. Dhillon believes that while disruption is inevitable, organizations that stay grounded in human-centered leadership will be best positioned to adapt and thrive.

“A lot is changing in the world, and humans are capable of adapting to new things,” says Dhillon. “But in uncertain times, we need to step back and make sure that larger global challenges don’t compromise our health and safety.”

Over the past three years, Dhillon has helped transform Carmichael Engineering’s safety program, building a strong team of EHS professionals and contributing to a 65 percent reduction in injury rates. That experience has given her a unique vantage point on how organizations can navigate disruption—from the opportunities presented by AI to the pressures created by global economic and political uncertainty—while maintaining a strong culture of safety.

AI as a co‑pilot, not a replacement

For Dhillon, the first principle of AI in safety is simple: it should enhance human judgement, not replace it. She is an unapologetic believer in AI’s potential—provided it is positioned as a tool that supports people rather than substitutes for them.

Within Carmichael’s safety function, AI is already helping remove much of the administrative burden that can slow down safety teams. Tasks that once took hours—drafting clear communications, capturing meeting minutes, or synthesizing lengthy safety documentation can now be completed in minutes. The result allows safety professionals to spend less time on paperwork and more time focusing on risk prevention and worker engagement.

The technology is particularly valuable when it comes to analyzing safety data. In any given week, a safety department may receive a steady flow of hazard reports, job hazard assessments, incident reports, and near-miss observations. Instead of allowing that information to sit in spreadsheets or scattered reports, Dhillon’s team uses AI to identify patterns and emerging risks.

“All that data can be analyzed with AI and used to identify trends that humans might miss,” she explains.

At the same time, Dhillon recognizes that many safety professionals feel uneasy about AI—whether it’s concern about being judged for using it or fear that automation could eventually replace their roles. Her approach has been to normalize AI as a “co-pilot” across the organization, supported by clear leadership endorsement and transparent guidance on appropriate use.

Using AI to draft emails, prepare meeting minutes, enhance toolbox talks, or refine written communication is not a shortcut, Dhillon emphasizes that it’s a way to work more effectively. To reinforce that message, she encourages open dialogue within her team, creating space for both early adopters and skeptics to raise questions and concerns.

“In any change management process, some people will adapt quickly, while others will resist,” she says. “Through open and consistent communication, we’re able to move forward together.

The hidden risks of AI: Cybersecurity and complacency

Dhillon is equally clear‑eyed about AI’s downsides. She points first to cybersecurity as one of the most serious emerging risks for organizations experimenting with powerful tools like generative AI.

From her perspective, giving an external AI tool direct access to corporate systems or sensitive data is a line that must not be crossed. Uploading a single file from a desktop for analysis is one thing; opening the organization’s entire network is quite another. That’s why Dhillon presses for strict guardrails and risk controls around how AI tools are deployed—mirroring the same hierarchy-of-controls mindset that underpins traditional safety practice.

She also worries about a more subtle risk: cognitive atrophy. If professionals over‑rely on AI for analysis, writing, and decision support, they may gradually lose the very judgment and critical thinking that make them effective. “The argument is, is AI making us dumb?” she says, acknowledging concerns that we may be “overlying on AI” instead of using our own brains.

Layered on top of that are ethical questions like how much data can or should be fed into AI systems, how advanced those systems should be allowed to become, and what happens when AI‑driven automation fails in high‑risk contexts like transportation.

Dhillon believes if organizations understand these risks, openly acknowledge them, and implement robust controls, AI can be an asset for both business performance and safety outcomes.

Economic uncertainty as a psychological safety risk

While AI is reshaping the workplace from within, Dhillon is equally attentive to the external forces disrupting organizations: political instability, tariff pressures, and uncertainty surrounding major trade agreements such as CUSMA/USMCA.

In her view, macroeconomic uncertainty doesn’t remain confined to headlines or boardrooms. It shows up at work every day through the people who bring those concerns with them.

“Global unrest, economic volatility, and constant news cycles create a level of uncertainty that workers carry into the workplace,” she says. “It can affect how people focus, how they make decisions, and how safe they are on the job.”

Dhillon points to tangible indicators of this shift: rising stress levels, increased reliance on both short- and long-term disability leave, and a growing number of mental health claims across organizations. For safety and business leaders, this signals that the traditional boundaries of risk management are expanding.

“The reality is that psychological safety is becoming a risk that organizations must actively manage,” she says. Ignoring it, she warns, can have serious consequences—not only for employee wellbeing, but also for productivity, decision-making, and overall workplace safety.

Expanding the definition of safety

Dhillon is also working to broaden how safety is defined within the organization. As part of that effort, she has introduced a “culture of care” standard: an initiative aimed at strengthening Carmichael’s approach to psychological safety and reinforcing the idea that employee wellbeing is an essential part of overall safety performance.

The initiative is designed to move the conversation beyond traditional physical hazards and encourage leaders to recognize the connection between wellbeing, focus, and safe decision-making on the job.

That shift is beginning to appear in everyday practices. Two years ago, toolbox talks focused almost entirely on traditional safety topics such as working at heights or confined spaces. Today, Dhillon’s team has introduced a dedicated monthly focus on mental health, stress, and fatigue, acknowledging that psychological wellbeing plays a critical role in workplace safety.

Leadership conversations are evolving as well. Dhillon encourages managers to create space for more open dialogue about workload pressures and stress levels, helping normalize discussions that were once difficult to have in many workplaces.

She also believes leaders must model the behavior they want to see. When she needed time to decompress, she spoke openly with her supervisor and explained that she was taking a mental health day. Being explicit about that choice, she says, helps reinforce that mental health is legitimate, discussable, and worthy of support.

The philosophy also shapes the types of supports she advocates for—accessible counseling resources, mental health days, and wellness initiatives that recognize the broader realities employees face today.

“Safety is more than just physical safety,” Dhillon emphasizes. “Psychological safety is becoming an important part of how organizations think about risk and how we support our people.”

Defending safety in a cost-cutting era

Economic disruption often brings tighter budgets and historically, safety programs have sometimes been among the first areas organizations consider scaling back. Dhillon pushes firmly against that mindset.

Her approach is to consistently position safety as a strategic investment rather than an operational cost. That means building clear business cases for leadership, quantifying both the financial and human risks associated with reducing safety resources.

Dhillon spends significant time translating safety outcomes into language executives understand: operational continuity, workforce reliability, and long-term cost avoidance. In her view, the consequences of cutting safety rarely appear immediately, but when they do, the costs can far outweigh any short-term savings.

At Carmichael, Dhillon acknowledges she operates in an environment where leadership places strong value on people, which helps support investments in safety initiatives. Still, she recognizes that many safety professionals work in organizations where safety is viewed primarily as overhead and budgets are under constant scrutiny.

For those leaders, she believes the role must evolve. Safety professionals, she argues, need to become effective influencers and educators, capable of clearly explaining risk and helping executives understand the potential consequences of underinvesting in safety.

That means conducting rigorous risk assessments, presenting data-driven insights, and having candid conversations about the long-term impacts of cutting safety programs. In other words, today’s safety leaders must be as comfortable in the boardroom as they are on the jobsite.

Human resilience in an uncertain world

For Dhillon, disruption is not a temporary phase. It is the environment organizations now operate in. AI will continue to evolve, economic pressures will fluctuate, and geopolitical uncertainty will remain a constant backdrop.

The challenge, she says, is not to eliminate disruption but to build the resilience needed to navigate it without compromising the wellbeing of workers.

That resilience depends on two parallel commitments: thoughtfully embracing new technologies like AI, while strengthening psychological safety and organizational support systems during periods of uncertainty.

In a rapidly changing world, Dhillon believes effective leadership requires both technological confidence and human awareness.

The formula is simple but powerful: embrace innovation responsibly, protect the wellbeing of workers, and defend safety as a strategic priority. Organizations that strike that balance, she suggests, will not only withstand disruption—but emerge stronger because of it.

This article is part of our Monthly Spotlight series, which in March focuses on Technology and Innovation.

This is article was produced in collaboration with Sukhi Dhillon