When did uncertainty become a workplace safety risk?
Workplace safety has traditionally focused on risks from innovative technology, changing working practices or unusual accident scenarios. However, the tide may be turning to a less visible but potentially significant risk: the impact of sustained economic and geopolitical uncertainty on familiar workplace risks.
The Dräger Safety and Health at Work Report 2026 states that two-thirds (66%) of respondents to their study who are employed in the construction and civil engineering fields said current uncertainty makes it harder for people in their businesses to remain focused on safety-critical tasks, while 46% of respondents reported an increased risk of safety mistakes or near misses over the previous two years.
Familiar hazards but increasingly difficult conditions
Well established occupational risks remain in the construction and civil engineering sector but the environment surrounding those risks appears to be shifting. The presence of economic pressure coupled with geopolitical disruption, increasing operational demands, and pressure to deliver faster are all factors which lead to employee fatigue, distraction, managerial supervision, and the overall safety culture of an organisation.
Whilst an established hazard does not have to change for the claims exposure to change, where employees are less focused, managers are placed under greater operational pressure or safety concerns are less readily escalated, the probability of an otherwise preventable incident may increase.
This is supported by the report. Whilst 80% of civil engineering respondents confirmed their organisation actively engages staff on health and safety issues, 46% reported that the uncertain economic climate affects their willingness to raise concerns. More strikingly, 51% of the respondents believed that employees who speak up about safety will attract a negative view from their employers.
Considering this from a claim’s perspective, any claim arising from a conventional workplace accident may subsequently attract a more complicated evidential background. Questions may focus on what was known, whether previous concerns had been raised, how management responded and whether commercial pressures affected any safety decisions.
The emerging risk is uncertainty itself
Has the time arrived, in the current climate, for insurers to investigate during the claims process, how external volatility altered an established risk. Economic uncertainty can be an influence around recruitment and retention of staff, subsequent training, maintenance, investment, and employee behaviour. Operational pressures, on the other hand, can affect employee supervision and the willingness or ability of employees to stop work or challenge unsafe practices.
There is also a potentially important human element, with the report indicating that 92% of civil engineering respondents placed the greatest trust in themselves for their own safety, compared with 79% who placed trust in their employer. The differential provides an interesting indication of how responsibility for safety may be perceived at workforce level.
The report also identifies the concern around substance and alcohol misuse by employees. 87% of civil engineering respondents recognised the potential for drugs and alcohol to affect their concentration and behaviour, while 81% said they would agree to random workplace testing intended to improve safety. Interestingly, this does not identify a wholly new risk but rather recognises factors capable of amplifying established ones.
Conclusion
There remains a tendency, when looking at emerging risks, to focus on risks that are visibly new and novel. However, the workplace safety picture demonstrates why insurers should also look for new pressures acting upon old risks.
The accidents that emerge from the workplace may ultimately look remarkably familiar to those that have gone before. However, what is changing is the environment in which such accidents occur. The emerging exposure may result from what appears to be a conventional type of accident but increased uncertainty around when and why conventional accidents occur, and whether the implemented risk controls remain effective when businesses and their employees are under sustained pressure. That makes organisational resilience, workforce confidence, and safety culture increasingly important indicators of future claims experience.
How can we help?
As workplace risks evolve, managing casualty claims requires a proactive and informed approach. Our specialist casualty team supports insurers and businesses in navigating complex employers’ liability and public liability claims, providing strategic advice to manage exposure and achieve effective outcomes.
