1 in 4 Workers Unsure How They Would Protect Themselves in a Workplace Emergency, CareerBuilder Survey Finds

When looking for a new job, it’s not unusual to take job security into consideration. But how often do workers think about security on the job? A new survey from CareerBuilder looks at how safe workers feel in their workplaces and how well they feel their companies work to ensure their security.

According to the survey, while the vast majority of workers (94 percent) feel their office is a secure place to work, nearly a quarter of workers (23 percent) say they would not know what to do to protect themselves if there was an emergency in their office that posed a physical threat.

The national online survey was conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder by Harris Poll between February 11 and March 6, 2015 and included a representative sample of more than 3,000 full-time, U.S. workers across industries and company sizes.

When asked about their feelings of security in regards to specific forms of threat, three in ten employees (30 percent) do not feel their workplace is well-protected from a physical threat from another person, and the same percentage (30 percent) feel their workplace is not well-protected from a digital hacking threat.

Most workers (85 percent) feel their workplace is well-protected in case of a fire, flood or other disaster, and 83 percent feel their workplace is well-protected from weather-related threats.

One in five workers (21 percent) report their company does not have an emergency plan in place in case of fire, flood or other disaster, and 1 in 4 (26 percent) say the same of extremely severe weather. Even more workers (40 percent) don’t believe their company has an emergency plan in place in case of a physical attack from another person or a technology security breach.

“Ensuring a safe and secure work environment should be of the utmost importance in any workplace,” says Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer of CareerBuilder. “Keeping employees protected means not only putting measures in place to keep them safe, but making sure employees are aware of the policies and procedures they can protect themselves, too.”

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder among 3,105 workers ages 18 and over (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government) between February 11 and March 6, 2015. With a pure probability sample of 3,105, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.76 percentage points.

About CareerBuilder®

CareerBuilder is the global leader in human capital solutions, helping companies target and attract great talent. Its online career site, CareerBuilder.com®, is the largest in the United States with more than 24 million unique visitors and 1 million jobs. CareerBuilder works with the world’s top employers, providing everything from labor market intelligence to talent management software and other recruitment solutions. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company and The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, South America, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.