Do Workers Have a False Sense of Security? New CareerBuilder Survey Looks at Security in the Workplace

CHICAGO – April 14, 2016 – While some workplace disasters can be avoided – such as oversleeping for a meeting or missing a major deadline – others are beyond anyone’s control. From weather-related damage and natural disasters to technology breaches, a new study from CareerBuilder looks at how prepared workers feel they are to deal with those other types of workplace disasters. According to the survey, the vast majority of workers (93 percent) feel their office is a secure place to work.

But is this sense of security misguided? Fewer than half of workers (37 percent) say they have a security guard at their workplace, and 1 in 5 (22 percent) are unsure how they would protect themselves in the case of an emergency in their office that posed a physical threat.

The national survey was conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder by Harris Poll between February 10 and March 17, 2016 and included a representative sample of more than 3,000 full-time, U.S. workers in the private sector across industries and company sizes.

While workers feel safe in their workplaces overall, when it comes to specific threats and how prepared their employer is to handle them, they aren’t as confident.

• 17 percent do not feel their workplaces are well-protected in case of a fire, flood or other disaster, and 22 percent don’t believe their companies have emergency plans in place should such events occur.
• 19 percent do not feel their workplaces are well-protected from weather-related threats, and 26 percent do not think their companies have an emergency plan in place if they were ever faced with extremely severe weather.
• 31 percent do not feel their workplace is well-protected from a physical threat from another person, and 41 percent do not believe their company has an emergency plan in place in case of a physical attack from another person.
• 31 percent do not feel their workplaces are well-protected from a digital hacking threat, and 39 percent do not feel their companies have an emergency plan in place in the event of a technology security breach.

“As an employer, you have an obligation to protect your employees by every means possible, and having an emergency plan in place to deal with unforeseen events is part of that,” says Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder. “However, an emergency plan is only as good as how well it is communicated. It is crucial that employees not only know about this plan, but have easy access to it and participate in regular drills so they know how to protect themselves and others.”

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder among 3,031 workers ages 18 and over (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government) between February 10 and March 17, 2016. With a pure probability sample of 3,031, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.78 percentage points.

About CareerBuilder®
As the global leader in human capital solutions, CareerBuilder specializes in cutting-edge HR software as a service to help companies with every step of the recruitment process from acquire to hire. CareerBuilder works with top employers across industries, providing job distribution, sourcing, workflow, CRM, data and analytics in one pre-hire platform. It also operates leading job sites around the world. Owned by TEGNA Inc. (NYSE:TGNA), Tribune Media (NYSE:TRCO) 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.

Media Contact
Mary Lorenz
773.527.3613x73613
mary.lorenz@careerbuilder.com
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CareerBuilder Media Contact
For all media inquiries and interview requests, contact:

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(E) jennifer.grasz@careerbuilder.com