Gaps in workplace safety may be holding back workforce performance and business growth

New research reveals workplace safety is now a business performance driver, but broadening operational pressures are making progress harder to sustain.

As UK productivity plateaus, with output per hour worked down 0.5 per cent year-on-year, new research from EcoOnline, a leading global provider of safety and sustainability software, reveals that gaps in workplace safety may be holding back workforce performance and business growth.

To mark World Day for Safety and Health at Work, EcoOnline, has released new findings from its annual Workplace Safety Report. The report found that, of 1,300 workers surveyed across the UK and Ireland, 90 per cent said a safer workplace made them more productive, with 79 per cent saying they would consider leaving a position due to unsafe workplace conditions.

The research shows that the barriers to worker safety, productivity, and operational resilience are becoming more varied and more persistent:

• Nearly a third (30 per cent) of UK lone workers experienced an accident while working alone in 2025, while confidence in employer responsibility fell from 68 per cent to 62 per cent year-on-year.
• Stress remains the dominant factor (61 per cent) among the 39 per cent who say they or a family member have experienced a workplace accident or illness.
• Chemical exposure is rising, with 44 per cent of workers now handling chemicals at work, up from 42 per cent in 2025, but efforts to phase out hazardous substances remain flat at 62 per cent.
• Just 30 per cent say they are aware their employer has a crisis plan and understand it well.

Workers also point to a broader set of operational challenges than traditional safety hazards alone, reflecting a growing awareness of risk across the workforce. Their top perceived threats to business continuity are:

• Cyberattack or data breach: 42 per cent
• Serious workplace injury or medical emergency: 27 per cent
• Fire or evacuation-related incidents: 23 per cent
• Physical security threats or unauthorised access: 23 per cent

Technology is increasingly seen as part of the workplace safety solution, with 72 per cent of workers saying more digital EHS tools would make them feel safer, up from 67 per cent in 2025. However, sentiment on AI remains cautious. While 47 per cent believe it could improve workplace safety, the majority still emphasise the need for human investment and expertise. Workers top asks for safety investment were more training for all staff (37 per cent) and ensuring more employees work specifically on safety (38 per cent), reinforcing that technology must support safety teams and scale their expertise, not replace them.

Tom Goodmanson, CEO at EcoOnline said:“We know safe workers are productive workers. Not just because accidents create downtime, but because safety directly affects focus and confidence. When the workforce trusts their safety processes, they spend less time compensating for risk and more time doing their jobs well. Connected risk visibility is critical here – giving teams the clarity to act quickly and keep operations moving. Technology aids this journey by supporting better decisions and scaling human expertise, so productivity and protection reinforce each other. The companies that get this right will be the ones that treat safety as a driver of operational readiness, not just a cost of compliance.”