Just under half (48%) of UK workers have experienced customer aggression at work and over a quarter (26%) have personal safety concerns while they commute, according to a new survey.
A study of more than 1,000 employees by wellbeing platform Sonder found that the most prevalent form of aggression was verbal abuse.
Almost nine in 10 (88%) of women had been on the receiving end of verbal abuse, while 81% of men had experienced it.
Sonder’s UK Safety Gap Report also found that older workers of Generation X (aged 45 to 60) and Baby Boomers (61 to 70) were more likely to suffer physical assault than their younger colleagues.
The survey showed that 12% of Gen Z workers (between 13 and 28) and 10% of millennials (29 to 44) had suffered a physical assault, while 14% of those between 45 and 70 had.
Of those workers subjected to customer aggression, 58% did not receive any support from their employer.
Only just over a third (36%) of all respondents rated their employer’s commitment to safety at work as “very good”.
The survey also found that Gen Z workers face more customer aggression and discrimination at work than their older colleagues.
A quarter of Gen Z workers experience customer aggression at least on a weekly basis, compared to 17% of millennials and 12% of Gen Z workers.
Eighteen per cent of Gen Z workers said they had experienced discrimination at work, compared to millennials (12%) and Generation X/Baby Boomers (8%).
These experiences are leading many younger employees to seek new employment – almost half (49%) of Gen Z are looking for a new job, compared to around a third of millennials and a quarter of Gen X/Baby Boomers.
Sonder’s findings also suggested low levels of psychological safety. Over three-quarters of all respondents (77%) said they did not feel completely safe to make mistakes at work, and 78% felt uncomfortable challenging the status quo. Six in 10 did not feel safe contributing ideas.
In turn, this had an impact on productivity, with 14% of respondents taking time off due to mental health or safety concerns over the past 12 months.
“These findings should serve as a wake-up call for UK organisations,” said Raechel Gavin, chief people officer at Sonder.
“The longer safety anxiety goes unaddressed, the more likely absenteeism and retention becomes an issue at both an individual and organisational level. If employees don’t feel safe, they are unlikely to stay, speak up, or perform well.
“Business leaders need to reassure employees that their safety matters, that aggression and abuse at work is unacceptable and that the organisation is committed to protecting and supporting the entire workforce.”
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