The 2023 State of Employee Safety Report

Discover what your employees truly value in terms of workplace safety and what that means for your business.
75% of employees say their employers’ safety efforts have not been very effective.

DO AMERICAN WORKERS FEEL SAFE?

We surveyed 2,000+ full-time U.S. employees across a wide range of industries to understand how they feel about their physical safety and mental well-being. Here’s what we learned.

Workers believe their employers prioritize productivity over safety.

How important are the following to you? To your employer?
Physical safety

81%

Important To Me

58%

To My Employer

65%

Important To Me

79%

To My Employer

65%

Important To Me

46%

To My Employer

Which of the following scenarios are you more concerned about happening at work now than you were a few years ago?

Public health emergency
45%
Workplace violence 
34%
Technology failure 
29%
Crime
26%
Severe weather
25%
Mental health incident/emergency
22%
Major transportation & infrastructure disruptions 
18%

Employees are more concerned about certain threats now than in years past.

85% of employees are more concerned about experiencing an emergency at work than they were last year.

Use the actionable data in this report to prepare your employees to navigate a wide range of emergencies and critical events.

As corporate travel rebounds, safety concerns soar.

Business travel is recovering to rates not seen since before the pandemic. But many employees have travel safety concerns that are not being addressed by their organizations.

Discover ways to ease traveling employees’ fears and protect your team when they are on the road.

41%

of business travelers have never been informed of potential safety risks at their destinations.

38%

of employees are required to travel for their job in some capacity—outside of regular commutes.

47%

of those employees know who to reach out to if they are in harm’s way while traveling for work.

Mental health is a top priority for workers, but employers aren’t doing enough to support it in the workplace.

77% of employees say their mental health is “extremely important” to them, but only 45% believe it is “extremely important” to their employers.

Explore what you can do to better support your employees’ mental health in the workplace.

38% Only 38% of employees say their employer provides mental health resources. 

Employees want more safety training and better communication from their employers.

Safety training and communication are the most requested and impactful ways a business can make its employees feel safer and more prepared.

40% of employees believe safety training should be mandatory and regular, and 40% would feel unsafe at their workplace if their employer didn’t notify them about a safety incident.

What could your employer do to make you feel like they care about your safety?

Improve communication about safety plans and policies
35%
Be more transparent about workplace incidents
31%
Provide more or better safety training, drills, and rehearsals
30%
Provide regular, brief safety talks to supplement training
27%
Make it easier to report safety incidents or provide feedback
25%
Provide more or better mental health resources
25%
Provide more work-from-home opportunities/flexibility
25%

Key Takeaways

Download the report for critical insights about how U.S. workers feel about safety in their workplaces.
  • 71% of employees don’t think their employers are following through on safety promises.
  • 46% of respondents say they are more likely to stay with an employer who genuinely cares about their safety.
  • 83% of employees have experienced an emergency at work at some point in their careers.
  • 40% of employees are concerned about their safety while traveling for work.
  • 50% of employees believe they have a better work-life balance while working from home.
  • 84% of employees think their employers can do more to make them feel prepared to face emergencies at work.

Navigate the Shifting Landscape of Employee Safety

Get the data you need to make more informed decisions about how you protect your people.

The Future of Work Depends on the Safety of Employees.

Get the data you need to make more informed decisions about how you protect your people.
Discover a Better Way to Communicate During Critical Events
With AlertMedia, keeping your workforce safe, informed, and connected during an emergency has never been easier.

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