Lone Worker Incidents in the Workplace: It is More Common Than You Would Think
Table of Contents
What does a lone worker look like?
What is a lone worker incident?
The biggest work safety risks that cause incidents while working alone
Since early 2020 due to COIVD-19, the work environment has shifted; it became a place where not only potential physical safety hazards existed, but ones that aren’t visible to the human eye, such as deadly viruses or future pandemics.
With this new, more unpredictable work environment, certain workers became more vulnerable, including healthcare and hospitality employees, as well as those who work alone and remotely.
What does a lone worker look like?
The first question we need to ask is: What does a lone worker look like? Depending on your industry, a lone worker can look like someone on an electrical pole or a person working the night shift at a convenience store. While there are differences from industry to industry, over the past 20 years in lone worker safety, we, at SafetyLine, have learned there are specific characteristics that make lone workers special, across all areas, unique, including:
1. Workers who perform dangerously, vulnerable work such as field service operatives.
These people perform an assessment in remote locations, working in confined spaces, or separated from other co-workers by physical necessity. These risks are hazardous as help is not readily available.
2. Workers who travel and work alone like truck drivers.
Because of their circumstances, these people are at risk of accidents or emergencies that could be fatal if the response is not fast enough.
3. People working from home are considered lone workers.
An employer is responsible and liable for the accident or injury of a worker who is working from home.
4. Workers who travel away from the office and with their customers.
Home care workers and social service workers could be at increased risk of violence in the workplace with new patients and clients. Or, they could be in at-risk and vulnerable circumstances while traveling to and from the office.
5. Employees at an isolated site like security guards.
People in these positions are at serious risk of violence (from people or animals) because they are isolated from the public view.
6. Lone workers who handle cash like taxi drivers.
These people are at risk of violence in their workplace, including physical threats, harassment, robberies, or other dangerous behavior that would require an immediate emergency response.
What is a lone worker incident?
So what is a lone worker incident or emergency? Well, it’s not much different from your typical incident. However, it is more complicated as they are alone and more vulnerable. A lone worker incident is an event in which a person working by themselves and without auditory contact with a coworker experiences an event where they are in danger and need immediate help.
Lone worker statistics
Lone and remote work is still a reasonably young area, and few lone worker statistics have been established – although we expect this interest in this area to increase in the future. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC), the mobile worker population in the US will grow over the next four years, increasing from more than 78 million in 2020 to more than 90 million employees in 2024. IDC predicts remote workers will make up close to 60% of the entire US workforce. On top of that, Berg Insight estimates that most users of lone worker safety solutions in Europe and North America were more than 1 million at the end of 2020. In Europe, they forecast that the number of users will grow at a CAGR of 9.7 %, from 740,000 at the end of 2020 up to just more than 2 million by the end of 2025. They also anticipate that the North American market will grow at an even faster pace, from 320,000 users at the end of 2020 to 605,000 users at the end of 2025.
The biggest work safety risks that cause incidents while working alone
Because lone workers are without the company and safety of other people, they need somebody else to watch their backs. We’re lucky to live in an age when technology is embedded with our lives, including communications (Zoom), shopping (Amazon), as well as safety (SafetyLine). When they are working alone, lone workers experience similar safety risks and hazards, but at heightened levels. These risks include:
Violence
Vehicular accidents (Transportation incidents
Invisible hazards
Slips, trips, and falls
Dangerous equipment and machinery
Fires and explosions
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, in The United States, the fatal occupation injuries by an event can be displayed on the graphic below:
The top three industries most vulnerable to fatal injuries at work are construction, transportation and warehousing, agriculture, government, retail, and hospitality. Many lone workers are often found in these top 6 industries. The following chart gives a full breakdown of the fatal injuries at work according to industry:
How to prevent working alone incidents
When protecting your lone workers and remote team, you need to take the existing safety protocols and take them up a notch because they are more vulnerable. Regardless of your industry, employers can take general safety steps to protect their lone workers. If you have lone employees, you should be taking these steps to increase occupational security and protection.
Proper PPE for lone workers
It doesn’t matter if your local legislation requires it. Still, as a responsible employer, you must provide your team with the best personal protective equipment (PPE) that protects them in dangerous circumstances.
Check-ins
Whether they’re manual or automated check-ins, your lone workers need to confirm their safety with a regulated system that can keep track of the team’s well-being.
Fall protection
No matter which country you work in, slips, trips, and falls are the most common types of injuries that can disable or even kill lone workers. Do your due diligence on these common-but-dangerous safety hazards. Here are 6 awesome tips to prevent fall injuries and fatalities.
Hazard assessments for lone workers
You may have been doing these already, but one of the most effective tactics to prevent lone worker incidents and emergencies is to perform regular hazard and safety assessments to determine the dangers your team faces every day.
Lone worker safety device
Another very effective tactic to improve lone worker safety is to introduce a proven lone worker safety device that addresses the unique safety needs of lone workers while improving communication and other essential areas like satellite location tracking.
Are you ready for the future of lone working?
So do you feel better about protecting your team? Peace of mind is incredibly valuable, and SafetyLine can give that to you by providing the confirmation your people are safe.