Top Safety Concerns of Workers

While violence in the workplace has occurred all too often in recent years, it's still surprising to learn that 46% of Americans fear a coworker could turn violent on the job.

This statistic comes from an EMCI Wireless survey of 1,000 American workers, exploring their perceptions and experiences related to workplace safety. 

The chart below spells out the many safety concerns of employees.

In the survey, workers were asked if that have had to deal with safety issues in the last 12 months. While the majority, 64%, said none, 21% said emotional or psychological safety issues, 10% said physical issues and 5% said both physical and psychological. 

The survey detailed the types of conflicts in the workplace and whether the respondents were involved or witnessed the events. 

The following chart details the causes of worker stress and anxiety.

Gen Z Concerns

For this group of workers, they are sufficiently worried about their safety at work that 45% report that they are getting distracted and losing focus at least a few times a week, and it’s hurting their job performance.

This concern is affecting time in the office, with 17% saying they had called off sick out of fear of physical harm or feeling unsafe at work. And the stress surrounding these issues translated into the the fact that 58% of Gen Z say they have called out of work due to stress or burnout.

Why Workers Stay at Jobs, Despite Safety Concerns

The survey found that 23% of workers say they can't afford to lose their jobs. Other responses are as follows:

• No one else is available to do my job --17%
• Part of the unspoken expectation of my job -- 16%
• Didn't want to disappoint my manager or team --16%
• Felt pressure to prove my value, especially with AI on the rise --14%
• Didn't feel comfortable saying no --14%
• Trusted myself to handle it, even without proper training --10%
• Didn't realize the task was risky until I was already doing it --9%