SECTION 05
Lone Worker safety
What is a lone worker?
For the purposes of this survey, we use the following definition:
When an employee works physically isolated and cannot reach their colleagues without a phone or via radio during all or part of the workday, the employee is considered a lone worker.
There are more lone workers in the USA, and the accident rate is high in both countries
35% of North American workers identify as lone workers (USA 38%, Canada 30%). While the regional average is unchanged from 2025, the country split has shifted: the USA has edged up from 36% to 38% while Canada has dropped from 33% to 30%, widening the gap between the two.
Lone working is most prevalent among younger workers, with 42% of the 18–34 age group identifying as lone workers, compared to 36% of the 35–49 group and 27% of the 50–65 group. By industry, utilities, oil and gas has the highest rate at 48%, followed by construction at 41% and manufacturing at 35%.
The accident rate for this group is striking.
Among those who identify as lone workers, 33% across North America said they experienced an accident while working alone in the previous year (USA 36%, Canada 27%). North America sits above every other region on this measure: UKI recorded a lone worker accident rate of 30%, the Nordics 32%, and the global average 32%.
Lone worker confidence in employer safety responsibility has deteriorated since 2025
Despite the high accident rate, only 62% of lone workers agree that their company takes great safety responsibility for lone workers (USA 65%, Canada 55%). Confidence has fallen since 2025, when 69% of lone workers overall agreed their employer took great responsibility for their safety, and the positions of the two countries have reversed since last year: Canadian lone workers now report lower confidence than their American counterparts. In 2025, Canada actually led on this measure at 73% versus 67% for the USA.
With more than a third of American lone workers and a quarter of Canadian lone workers having experienced an accident in the past year, this declining confidence is a warning sign that employers may not be responding adequately to the specific risks faced by isolated workers.
The biggest safety concerns for North American lone workers are stress, fatigue, and accidents
North American lone workers are most worried about stress and mental health issues, fatigue, and accidents in that order. Across North America, stress or mental health issues are cited by 48% of lone workers, fatigue by 47%, and accidents and extreme weather both by 42%.
North American Lone Worker top 3 concerns:
48%
Stress or mental health issues
47%
Fatigue
42%
Accidents and extreme weather
The levels of concern are notably higher than in other regions. Across most risks category, North American lone workers rate above their counterparts in UKI and the Nordics, sometimes by 6 to 10 percentage points, particularly on extreme weather, accidents, and chemical exposure.
In every risk category measured, USA lone workers reported higher levels of concern than Canadian workers. This consistent gap across all categories suggests that USA lone workers may be working in environments with a broader and more intense range of risk exposures.
