All companies with lone workers must take lone worker safety seriously, and not just because they have a legal duty to do so.
By paying attention to worker safety, a company has access to benefits that companies with a lax approach to worker safety do not.
For example, improved staff morale, reduced staff churn, lower insurance premiums and better public reputation are all known to result from a company with a robust approach to lone worker safety.
Below, we take a closer look at the five main benefits a company can derive from adopting an appropriate lone worker safety regime.
Benefits of adopting an appropriate lone worker safety regime
Staff Morale
Feeling valued and knowing an employer has got your back has an important role to play in maintaining staff morale.
And it should be remembered that while it’s easy for HR managers to overlook worker safety, workers know when a company is in earnest and is actually taking actionable steps to keep workers safe.
The disconnect between how employees regard the safety regimes in place at work and how well managers think they’re doing on this score can damage staff morale and undermine confidence in management.
For example, according to a survey carried out by the HSE, only 58% of workers felt their employer took health and safety seriously ‘all of the time’. The same study showed that managers believed the figure to be closer to 80%.
Risk Reduction
As we mentioned previously, lone work is inherently more risky than teamworking.
To give you an example of just how much more risky, research finds that common causes of workplace injuries like slips, trips and falls, manual handling, being hit by moving objects, and violence in the workplace, are much more hazardous when a worker is alone.
Falls from heights, which took 40 lives in 2022–23 in the UK, are particularly deadly when workers are alone, as the incapacitated worker is often unable to summon help quickly.
A lone worker alarm can help here, as it often comes kitted out with built-in fall detection and true map-down sensors, which automatically trigger an alert if the worker is unconscious or is incapacitated and unable to call for help.
Worker Retention
A safe workplace is more likely to keep hold of valuable members of staff than one that takes a halfhearted approach to worker safety.
It’s easy to be complacent when it comes to worker safety and, sadly, many companies are.
A recent report suggested that 94% of companies rated their support of workers as excellent, yet just 45% of lone workers agreed.
Understandably, over a fifth of UK employees say that safety concerns at work informed their decision to jump ship and find alternative employment.
Bear in mind that staff turnover is estimated to cost UK businesses £4 billion per year, and the average employee costs around £30,000 to replace.
Insurance
It’s inevitable that if an employee is hurt at work, or injured or killed on the job, employer liability insurance will have to defray the costs of putting things right for the employee and his or her family.
This, in turn, means increased premiums for the company.
By keeping lone worker safety front and centre, a business can ensure it isn’t hit with bumper premiums when renewing its insurance policies.
Reputation
In the age of wall-to-wall social media coverage, maintaining a good public reputation is trickier than it was in the past.
A hard-earned reputation can be damaged by an adverse Tweet or social media post if a business gets a reputation for risky workplace practices.
Conclusion
It’s easy to think that lone worker safety is entirely for the benefit of the employee who is protected, but this isn’t the case.
As we have shown, the business case for keeping lone workers safe is a compelling one.
From staff morale and worker retention to lower insurance premiums and reputation management, the benefits of keeping lone workers safe are many for the employer.
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