Feeling unsafe at work is costing retailers more than they realise
Retailers closely monitor footfall, conversion rates, labour costs and sales per square foot. Store colleagues’ safety deserves the same attention.
Feeling unsafe can affect how employees serve customers, concentrate on their work and decide whether to take on additional shifts.
New research from Peoplesafe suggests that the commercial consequences of feeling unsafe can begin long before an incident reaches a store manager or appears in an incident log. Its report, The Hidden Safety Signal, draws on surveys, focus groups and interviews examining how perceptions of safety influence behaviour at work. The research involved 1,313 survey participants across the UK workforce.
Retail workers feel less safe than the wider workforce
Two thirds (66%) of retail workers surveyed said they had felt unsafe at least once in the previous year, compared with 51% of the general workforce.
The retail findings also show how familiar challenges affect shop-floor employees. 41% reported experiencing verbal abuse, 35% threatening behaviour and 31% harassment from customers or members of the public. Safety concerns affected the mental wellbeing of 37% of retail respondents, against 29% of the wider workforce.
A colleague can feel comfortable during a busy daytime shift yet become concerned when working alone, dealing with an unpredictable customer or closing the store. The report’s retail interviews found that staffing, isolation, lighting and access to support all influenced how safe people felt.
The effect on customer service and productivity
Almost one in three retail workers (30%) said feeling unsafe had negatively affected their productivity. This compares with 23% of the general workforce. The finding matters for retailers whose performance depends on colleagues focusing on customers and day-to-day store operations.
Retail focus-group participants described becoming more cautious, watching entrances and exits, avoiding certain customers or seeking out colleagues when they felt vulnerable. This self-protection takes attention away from normal tasks. Workers also described feeling less confident communicating with customers and less able to carry out their roles effectively when they did not feel safe.
One research participant described how concerns about personal safety diverted their attention:
“Instead of focusing on customer service or processing transactions, I find myself constantly scanning the shop floor for potential threats, or watching the doors.”
Although the research doesn’t quantify the financial impact on customer service, the findings suggest that feeling unsafe can affect employees’ ability to engage confidently with customers and carry out their day-to-day responsibilities.
Feeling safer could make staffing easier
The research also points to a connection between safety and willingness to work. 29% of retail respondents said they would accept additional shifts if they felt safer at work. For store managers balancing rotas, colleague availability and customer demand, this is a significant consideration.
The figure reflects what workers said they would be willing to do, rather than a measured increase in hours worked. Even so, it suggests that improving perceptions of safety could help remove a barrier to taking on extra shifts. A worker who feels unsupported while opening, closing or working alone may be less willing to volunteer for those periods.
What would help retail colleagues feel safer?
Nine in ten retail workers (90%) said a personal safety solution would make them feel safer, compared with 66% of the general workforce. This strong response suggests that employees value knowing they can reach reliable support quickly when a situation changes.
Safety technology can provide a direct way to raise an alert, but the report is clear that devices and apps cannot create an effective safety culture on their own. Employees also want adequate staffing, clear procedures, management that takes concerns seriously and confidence that someone will respond when help is needed.
Retailers can start by listening to colleagues about the times, tasks and areas where they feel least safe. Opening and closing routines, lone working arrangements, access to assistance, and how concerns are reported all deserve scrutiny. Understanding how people feel, alongside recorded incidents, offers a fuller picture of the risks affecting store operations.
Retailers are already taking practical steps
Retail businesses have begun adopting monitored personal safety solutions. The Works provides a documented example, issuing Peoplesafe MySOS devices to sites it considers at risk so colleagues can call for help when needed, including around store opening and closing.
For retailers reviewing their own arrangements, the priority should be identifying the working situations where staff feel vulnerable and providing proportionate, dependable support. The right combination of people, procedures and technology can help employees concentrate on their responsibilities rather than constantly watching for potential threats.
Safety is a retail performance issue
The findings challenge retailers to look beyond reported incidents. Employees may change how they work, avoid certain shifts, or struggle to focus on customer service without ever making a formal safety report.
The findings make a strong case for including colleagues’ perceptions of safety in operational decisions, as 30% of retail respondents reported a negative impact on productivity, 29% said they would accept additional shifts if they felt safer and 90% believed a personal safety solution would help them feel safer.
Read Peoplesafe’s full research report, The Hidden Safety Signal, for the methodology, retail findings and recommendations.
