Thursday 11th July 2024
Research undertaken by safety technology provider Dräger Safety UK suggests that more than nine in 10 respondents would like to revisit Great Britain’s Health and Safety at Work Act so it has a greater focus on mental health and wellbeing.
The Dräger Safety and Health at Work Report 2024, published this week, found that 97% of the 250 managers and 94% of the 750 employees polled feel Great Britain’s main piece of health and safety legislation should be revised so that it considers changing workplaces and different working styles.
On a positive note, 78% see this as an opportunity for the ground-breaking legislation to better reflect the current risk landscape and improve safety.
The safety technology provider’s latest research, which was conducted in March in UK organisations with more than 50 employees, outlines six key takeaways, many of which are interlinked.
High on the list of ‘takeaways’ is a greater focus on mental health and wellbeing, alongside several other important considerations that respondents feel require more attention.
These considerations are a greater focus on environmental and social governance (ESG) (75%); an ageing workforce/later retirement (73%); the potential impact of digital growth (73%); changing expectations of younger employees (69%); and more focus on diversity and inclusion (68%).
Surprisingly, despite all the OSH challenges highlighted in the research, a third takeaway is that workers feel safer at work than in previous years. As the report explains, this is mainly because respondents cite better safety training, more focus on mental health and wellbeing and employers investing in workplace safety.
66% OF RESPONDENTS FEEL SAFETY AT WORK IS BEST ACHIEVED THROUGH A BALANCE OF MONITORING BY TECHNOLOGY AND BY HUMAN SUPERVISORS
Having said this, more than half (56%) of Generation Z respondents fear that a major safety incident could occur in their organisation in the next five years, compared with only 32% of Generation X respondents.
The generational differences are explored further in the fourth takeaway, which looks at how generational changes are affecting safety. This reveals that as experienced workers retire, younger, less experienced and knowledgeable workers are replacing them who require more training, but face work environments that are shaped by budget constraints and cuts.
The research reveals that employees expect a lot from employers when it comes to health and safety training. Although 93% expect formal training as opposed to shadowing or being shown by colleagues, only 68% feel that this expectation is being met.
In addition, although 93% expect a full induction programme, which includes health and safety policies, this falls to 71% who feel this expectation is met by their employer.
Returning to the mental health and wellbeing focus in the fifth takeaway, the report indicates that these have been affected by external pressures and working styles.
Cost of living pressures are blamed for impacting on respondents’ sleep, ability to focus, make decisions and communicate. The research suggests that younger generations have been the most affected, with nearly three-in-five (59%) Generation Z reporting they are currently experiencing anxiety or depression. This compares with 39% for Millennials; 29% for Generation X; and 18% for Baby Boomers.
In terms of different working styles, hybrid working is identified as being the most beneficial for mental health and wellbeing, especially among Millennials (63%) and Generation Z (56%). However, full-time remote working is seen as less beneficial.
The final takeaway emphasises the importance of innovation but also the challenges this poses. The report underlines the need to keep pace with advances in safety technology such as digitalisation and connectivity, but also managing to balance sustainability with safety and diversity and inclusion issues.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE, THE TOP CHALLENGE WITH 78% IS SKILLS SHORTAGES IN THE WORKFORCE
On technology, 73% think that the potential of digital growth, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and connectivity, should be driving a rethink on health and safety in the next five years.
However, only 31% feel their employer is making good use of such technology and even less (25%) think their company is waiting for others to take the lead in relation to technology such as AI, better connectivity and data.
The research also finds that 66% of respondents feel safety at work is best achieved through a balance of monitoring by technology and by human supervisors.
In terms of providing training in digital technologies, the report reveals that the oldest generation has the highest expectation, with 44% of Baby Boomers citing a greater need for better training compared with 27% of Generation Z respondents.
The report also explores who respondents feel is responsible for health and safety and the findings reflect generational differences in attitude.
At one end of the spectrum, 33% of Generation Z respondents believe the government is predominantly responsible compared with only 20% of Baby Boomers.
Looking to the future and identifying the leading workplace safety provision challenges for the next 12 months, the top challenge with 78% is skills shortages in the workforce. This is followed by a younger workforce with different levels of knowledge and higher expectation of training (76%) and budget cuts/constraints (74%).
Mental health is also identified as being the number one factor in driving businesses and government rethinks towards health and safety over the next five years.
‘[More than] a third (34%) of all respondents in this year’s research say they are concerned about their future mental health, which when added to the percentage of people already experiencing mental ill-health (37%) has the potential to be a ticking timebomb for UK workplace safety given the clear risks that mental ill-health pose to physical safety of both the individual and colleagues,’ notes the report.
‘Respondents report mental ill-health impacting their sleep so that they are tired at work (46%), making them less able to concentrate/focus (44%) and less able to make good decisions (26%).’
Although Dräger Safety UK adds that it is positive to see this focus on such an important issue, the company says its findings do raise questions around whether less ‘newsworthy’ health and safety issues, such as work at height, confined space safety or toxic exposure are being given adequate focus.
KEY POINTS
- 71% say that balancing safety with sustainability will be a key challenge for workplace safety in the next 12 months.
- 68% believe there needs to be a greater focus on diversity and inclusion in health and safety (such as more inclusive personal protective clothing ranges).
- 53% of managers say that they are concerned that their employer may be cutting corners with safety to keep costs down.
- 70% of managers say they would be open to renting safety equipment if it meant they could get the best quality safety equipment more quickly and cost effectively.
- 32% of managers think that safety as a service is likely to be a growing trend.
- 62% see cost cutting competing with workplace safety as a priority.
- 57% of managers are concerned about the risk of a major safety incident occurring in the next five years, compared with 38% of employees.
