New health and safety research ‘wake up call’ for businesses

Growing financial pressures leading to outdated or poorly maintained safety equipment, mental health and well-being issues being seen as a lower priority compared to more ‘traditional’ health and safety issues, and cynicism amongst employees in relation to how much personal responsibility they are expected to take on for health and safety, as well as concerns over a potential over reliance on artificial intelligence, all feature in a range of findings in the fifth annual Dräger Safety and Health at Work Report 2025 – a study exploring attitudes to safety and health topics in UK workplaces.

It is hoped the findings will be useful for businesses that may not be fully aware of the extent of employee sentiment towards the issues involved.

This research was conducted via interviews with 1,000 respondents (750 employees and 250 managers) in UK organisations with 50-plus employees during March this year.

Matthew Bedford, managing director, Draeger Safety UK Ltd, said: “It is vital that organisations remain focused on fundamental issues such as the safety and well-being of their employees.

“My hope is that some of the issues highlighted in this year’s research will serve as a wake up call to UK businesses.

“Despite the vast majority of people reporting that they do feel safe in their workplace, there are clear areas of dissatisfaction and cynicism across key areas which need addressing to prevent negative sentiment developing further.”