Workplace safety hinges on more than just feeling secure: Report

Workplaces are safer than before, but new threats are emerging, not from machinery or toxic gases, but from disillusioned employees, algorithmic decisions, and neglected investment in safety infrastructure

- 

IN today’s increasingly interconnected workplace, physical safety alone no longer suffices; health and safety at work now hinges equally on mental resilience, trusted leadership, emerging technologies, and genuine sustainability commitments.

As organisations and regulators recalibrate for these new realities, several emerging risk areas demand integrated responses across industries globally.

The insights stem from the Drager Safety and Health at Work Report 2025, conducted for Drager Safety UK and carried out independently, which surveyed diverse workforces on safety perceptions and emerging hazards.

One striking finding reveals that while most report feeling physically safe, a majority feel psychological, technological, or financial pressures are eroding actual safety margins.

In fact, while 96 per cent of people feel physically safe at work, 65 per cent believe a lack of psychological safety is contributing to physical safety risks.

At the core of this evolving landscape is psychological safety; the employees’ ability to speak up, share concerns, or report mistakes without fear.

A growing cohort of employees—dubbed ‘Gen C’ or Generation Cynical—has emerged, marked not by age but by disillusionment.

These are workers who feel disengaged from their employers’ safety promises, sceptical of new initiatives, and doubtful about whether leadership is truly prioritising their wellbeing.

Many feel that despite the language of care, they are left to shoulder more of the safety burden than ever before.

However, a majority of workers (63 per cent) now feel that too much responsibility is placed on employees compared to employers when it comes to workplace safety and wellbeing.

This sense of imbalance is a defining trait of Gen C, who increasingly see workplace safety as an individual burden rather than a shared organisation-al priority.