Executive Summary

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Our research report sheds light on the personal safety concerns faced by professional service employees in the UK, based on a survey of 1,004 staff working in businesses with over 50 employees.

The surveys were conducted in January 2023 and investigated the perceptions of personal risk for people working in the professional services sector - a sector that is not perceived to have obvious and significant safety issues. However, these concerns do exist and are impacting the behaviour and performance of a substantial percentage of people.

KEY FINDINGS

The wellbeing of nearly 1 in 4 people is impacted by their fears for their personal safety when working or commuting to work.

48% of employees put off or avoid important duties due to personal safety concerns

69% of commuters have safety concerns about their journey

71% of employees have personal safety fears when working late

1 in 4 reported experiencing threatening incidents, including verbal and physical assault

44% of employees reported personal safety incidents in the last year

7 in 10 would take a personal safety app if offered by their employer