Marvin Onumonu96% of people feel safe at work, but 65% said a lack of psychological safety was leading to more physical safety risks, research from Dräger UK found.
The fifth annual Dräger ‘Safety and Health at Work Report 2025’ showed growing financial pressures were causing issues with outdated or poorly maintained safety equipment.
Mental health and wellbeing had dropped down the list of priorities, with more traditional health and safety concerns like fire and respiratory hazards now seen as more important.
63% of workers thought too much responsibility was being placed on employees compared to employers when it came to workplace safety and wellbeing.
Last year, mental health and wellbeing was the top priority for health and safety, with 82% saying it should drive change over the next five years; in the past 12 months, it slipped to third place.
Safety training was seen as a tick-box exercise by 73% of respondents, and 9% said they had not received any safety training in the last five years.
Financial pressures, including changes to National Insurance, were seen as a factor, with 77% saying it would impact health and safety budgets.
66% said their company’s safety equipment was inadequate or in need of repair.
The introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) divided opinion – 44% thought AI could help reduce human error by automating safety checks, improve training with simulations, and help spot hazards.
At the same time, 92% saw potential risks with AI in workplace safety over the next five years, with 47% worried that over-reliance on AI could lead to complacency.
Matthew Bedford, managing director at Draeger Safety UK Ltd, said: “The outlook for businesses continues to be extremely challenging, not least financially.
“However, it is vital that organisations also remain focused on fundamental issues such as the safety and wellbeing 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.”
Bedford added: “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.
“It is vital that we do not allow complacency to develop in relation to workplace health and safety, and that instead, innovation and new approaches being see in the fields of safety training and safety technology are leveraged fully to keep workplaces safe despite the challenges faced.”
