Americans Believe Their Safety at Work is “More Important Than Ever”
A new report shows employed Americans believe their workplace safety is more important than ever, but they are not so sure their employer would agree.
Since the introduction of Covid-19, employee wellbeing and safety has been top of mind for all workers and employers around the globe. Now, two years later, a new report details just how important workplace safety continues to be for employees.
Findings from AlertMedia’s State of Employee Safety Report shows the current perceptions of safety in the workplace. The study found that 90 percent of American workers believe their organization has a duty of care—a legal and moral obligation— to protect employees from risk or harm. Additionally, 82 percent of employees said they believed that obligation extended to remote employees.
While the vast majority of respondents said they believed that their employer had a responsibility to keep them safe, only 55 percent said they believe their employer has “made an effort to ensure their safety than in previous years.”
“While health and safety have been top-of-mind for nearly every person, business, and community for the past two years,” said Alex Vaccaro, Chief Marketing Officer for AlertMedia in a press release. “This research offers new evidence about what employees expect from their employers when working as well as how their perception of safety impacts numerous aspects of their lives.”
A vast majority of respondents (82 percent) said that they believe their safety at work is “more important than ever,” but only 54 percent said that they believed their safety was extremely important to their employer. In addition to that, 81 percent of workers said they agree that executive leadership personally “cares about employees’ safety,” but 64 percent said that communication about workplace safety and emergencies from leadership needs work.
The report also surveyed American workers on safety awareness and training. According to the report, 82 percent of workers said that their employer offers safety training, but only half (56 percent) report actually participating in the training more than once per year.
The study also found that of those who were not offered safety training were more than twice as likely to say they would not know what to do in the event of an emergency at work.
Despite the light at the end of the Covid-19 tunnel, workers still believe their safety should be top priority. Nearly all (97 percent) of those surveyed said that feeling safe at work is an important factor in determining where they would want to carry on their career.
To download the entire report, visit www.alertmedia.com/employee-safety-report.