Remote workers want to feel safer

Businesses aren't doing enough to keep employees working away from the office safe.

So claims new research from Orange, which found that just over half (53 per cent) of lone workers believe their organisations are doing all they can to keep them safe while they are away from the traditional office confines.

Michael Lawrence, head of corporate propositions Orange UK, said mobile applications allowing for emergency notification, which employers can enable, are currently the focus.

"You will see more of this in the coming months and years." Lawrence told IT PRO.

Currently, 12 per cent of respondents said they had access to a type of tool that allows them to send alerts to colleagues or emergency services, though 75 per cent of lone workers are provided with mobile phones.

Orange is partnering with Guardian24, public sector specialists and Peoplesafe, private sector experts, in an effort to help employers ensure lone worker safety by providing organisations with those types of tools.

Employers have a legal responsibility to ensure employee safety under the Corporate Manslaughter Act of 2008, which offers employees more protection against corporate neglect.

More than three-quarters (79 per cent) of lone workers surveyed spend over half of their time away from an office or employer property, while 23 per cent spend all of their time working this way, the survey findings showed.

Despite the figures, awareness of lone worker safety in the public and private sector is growing, according to Lawrence.

"It all depends on the organisation. There are certain areas where it is becoming more visible when they [organisations] realise there is a need," he said.