Just one third of staff feel safe from Covid-19

Just 35 per cent of Yorkshire staff said they had felt safe whilst working, which is 4 per cent lower than the national average of 39 per cent.

Yorkshire employees are also more likely to believe that the type of work they do makes them significantly more likely to catch the coronavirus, according to the report which was commissioned by Selby-based CT Safety Barriers.

In total, 19 per cent of workers in Yorkshire said the nature of their work made them more vulnerable, compared with a national average of 17 per cent.

Less than half (43 per cent) of the workers in the county said they are satisfied with their employer’s virus prevention measures, compared with a national average of 41 per cent.

Another finding was that a quarter (26 per cent) of Yorkshire staff think that the pandemic has changed their jobs forever.

Chris Caunce, managing director of CT Safety Barriers, said: “The results of the YouGov survey demonstrate how much more UK businesses need to do, in order to keep their staff safe in these troubled times.

“Much of the challenges businesses are facing in 2020 are unprecedented. However, the priority for employers should always be the safety of their staff and those who visit their site.

“For companies that are seeing these low levels of staff confidence, it’s vital to keep the dialogue with employees open and be wise to any concerns they have about your virus prevention strategy.”

A total of 478 of the workers surveyed have spent time working at their workplace since the lockdown of March 23. Just 19 per cent of these workers said that they had felt safe from Covid-19 there.

The survey also confirmed that there is a serious lack of social distancing taking place in workplaces. Just 22 per cent of those working on-site said it was possible to socially distance themselves from colleagues.

Just one in five of those surveyed said that people are generally keeping two metres apart from each other as they carry out their work on-site.

When it comes to the journey to and from their workplace, only 29 per cent of workers said they had felt safe from Covid-19 whilst commuting.

The survey results also demonstrated a clear difference in male and female safety perception since the lockdown of March 23.

When focusing on those who have spent time at their workplace, just 34 per cent of women agreed that they had generally felt safe from Covid-19 when they have been working. For men, 43 per cent said they felt safe.

In addition, 31 per cent of women feel that they are significantly more likely to catch Covid-19 due to the type of work that they do. This figure is 8 per cent lower for men (23 per cent).

The survey also found that parents are less likely to be satisfied with an employer’s Covid-19 response.

Workers with parental responsibilities are 7 per cent less likely to be satisfied with the precautions their employer has taken to protect them from the virus. Overall, 38 per cent of parents and guardians were satisfied, compared with 45 per cent of workers without kids.