Got a thought or question? We’d love to hear it—write to us and you might be featured on a future episode

What if the reason you care so deeply about safety didn’t start on a job site, but at home? Joe opens up about growing up in the shadow of addiction, becoming the family protector before he had the words for it, and how that early vigilance turned into a calling. The journey moves from sales floors to factory floors to the safety director’s seat, revealing how skills like persuasion, trust-building, and systems thinking quietly prepared him to lead with empathy and clarity.

We dive into the difference between compliance theater and human-centered safety, and why culture beats policy when pressure hits. Joe shares how a layoff at forty cracked open the path to safety leadership, how walking 20 facilities taught him to see risk the way workers do, and why training became the craft that changed everything. Instead of telling people what to do, he learned to connect safety to the work they already take pride in—making it real, relevant, and repeatable. Along the way, we talk about burnout, boundaries, and the invisible weight protectors carry, and how faith stitched meaning through seasons that felt scattered.

This story challenges tired assumptions: safety isn’t checklists; it’s care. It’s about recognizing vulnerability, designing for how people actually work, and building programs that stick because they’re rooted in lived experience. If you’ve ever felt called to protect others, or if your past feels like a liability, you’ll hear a different truth: nothing was wasted. Pain, when understood, becomes purpose. Subscribe, share this with a fellow protector, and leave a review with your biggest takeaway—what shaped your why?

Hosted by: Joe Garcia, Safety Leader & Culture Advocate
New Episodes Every Other Tuesday
Safety on Purpose

Follow & Connect:
🔸 Instagram: Instagram
🔸 LinkedIn: Joe Garcia
🔸 Spotify | Apple | Podcasts: Search "Safety on Purpose"

Got a thought or question? We’d love to hear it—write to us and you might be featured on a future episode

We look back at a year where safety became more human and useful, then map the practical shifts leaders and workers need in 2026. Clear priorities, simpler systems, and real trust move safety from a report to a relationship.

• Human-centered safety gains across fields
• Useful tech that reduces friction
• OSHA focus on heat, air quality, chemicals, noise, contractors
• Cultural lessons: over-communication, moments, standards, storytelling
• Worker priorities: clarity, support, realistic workloads, trust
• Leader moves for 2026: curiosity, simplify systems, daily presence, training, fatigue as operational risk
• 2026 trends: human performance, modernization, real-time data, ops integration, mental health core
• Podcast updates: field guests, full mentor moments, tactical scripts, community Q&A, Jan 20 relaunch, bi-weekly, new branding and potential video

We’re going to take a little time off for the holidays and then relaunch in 2026 on January 20th

Hosted by: Joe Garcia, Safety Leader & Culture Advocate
New Episodes Every Other Tuesday
Safety on Purpose

Follow & Connect:
🔸 Instagram: Instagram
🔸 LinkedIn: Joe Garcia
🔸 Spotify | Apple | Podcasts: Search "Safety on Purpose"

Got a thought or question? We’d love to hear it—write to us and you might be featured on a future episode

We explore how to turn leadership setbacks into stepping stones through clear mindsets and a simple playbook. A quiet failure story shows why fit with real work matters more than plans on paper, and how modeling learning builds team resilience.

• setbacks as feedback not verdicts
• story of a failed safety initiative
• misalignment between design and real work
• three mindset shifts for resilience
• pause, name, seek challenge, adjust one step
• modeling transparency to shape culture
• monthly reflection exercise to turn regret into insight

If this episode resonated with you, share it with someone who might need encouragement today

Hosted by: Joe Garcia, Safety Leader & Culture Advocate
New Episodes Every Other Tuesday
Safety on Purpose

Follow & Connect:
🔸 Instagram: Instagram
🔸 LinkedIn: Joe Garcia
🔸 Spotify | Apple | Podcasts: Search "Safety on Purpose"