More than nine out of 10 workers (94%) believe health and safety legislation needs to be overhauled and updated to reflect the changing workplace.
This year is the fiftieth birthday of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and, according to a poll of 1,000 workers by workplace safety firm Draeger, this desire rises to 97% among managerial staff.
Workers want to see a greater focus being put on protecting mental health, and wellbeing as well as physical.
More than three-quarters (78%) also feel there is also an opportunity for an overhaul of the Act to better reflect the current working and risk landscape and to improve safety in their sector.
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On the plus side, workers continue to say they feel safer at work than in previous years. This is largely because of more and better safety training, more focus on mental health and wellbeing and more company spend on workplace safety.
Generational changes are affecting safety, however. As experienced workers retire, they are being replaced by a younger workforce with less experience and knowledge, and needing more training within the context of budget cuts and constraints.
Key future challenges to safety identified in the survey include keeping pace with advances in safety technology such as digitalisation and connectivity, balancing sustainability with safety and diversity and inclusion issues.
Overall, more than a third (37%) of employees say that cost of living pressures and financial difficulties are affecting their mental health and wellbeing – with sleep (46%), focus (44%), decision-making (26%) and communication (23%) all being negatively impacted as a result, which has the potential to impact physical safety.
Cost of living pressures and financial difficulties are having a greater effect on the mental health of younger generations, with nearly three in five Gen Z (59%) reporting that they are currently experiencing anxiety or depression.
This figure reduces through the generations, although is still affecting over a third (39%) of Millennials, 29% of Gen X and 18% of Baby Boomers.
Matthew Bedford, managing director at Draeger Safety UK, said of the findings: “Five decades after it was introduced, it is perhaps unsurprising that so many people feel that approaches to health and safety need a rethink given the changes in working practices as well as the rising prevalence of mental ill health over the last five years, not to mention fifty years.
“However, whilst it is clear that the issue of mental ill health is a key consideration for the future of health and safety in UK workplaces, it is vital that other, crucially important health and safety issues are not forgotten,” he added.
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