Most (83%) of U.S. workers say they have experienced an emergency while on the job at some point in their careers, according to
AlertMedia, which noted it is not a question of if an emergency will impact a business, but rather when. AlertMedia reports that businesses that fail to evolve their safety planning and training to meet today's threats endanger employees and put business continuity at risk. Organizations that fail to evolve safety standards also
risk losing employees, as 46% of workers rank safety among their top priorities when considering whether or not to stay with their current employer.
The above slideshow details the emergencies that are worrying workers more today than just a few years ago, according to AlertMedia. However, there are some regional variations to these finds, according to Peter Steinfeld, senior vice president of safety solutions for AlertMedia. "Severe weather concerns are slightly higher in the South and Northeast compared to the West and Midwest, which is likely the result of hurricanes that states in these regions experience," Steinfeld tells PropertyCasualty360.com. "Concerns about natural disasters such as wildfires and earthquakes were highest in the West, which is expected given that region experiences a disproportionate volume of these incidents compared to the rest of the country." In addition to uncovering the emergencies most concerning to workers, AlertMedia's report also shows workers are displeased with their employer's safety efforts. Slightly more than 70% of workers surveyed said their employer doesn't follow through on safety promises, while 65% said their employer isn't making an active effort to improve safety training. When it comes to improving safety on the job, employees that receive training more frequently are also more likely to view their
workplace safety programs as being more effective, according to Steinfeld. "Nearly half of the respondents in the construction industry and 45% of respondents in the technology and software industry said they receive training once per quarter or more, and they were also among the top to say their employer's safety efforts are very effective," he adds.
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