Is it to get yourself a new job?
Have you started the year with a New Year’s Resolution and strong motivation to look for a new job for yourself? Starting the year with fresh motivation can feel exciting, but it’s worth pausing to consider exactly what you want from your next role. Before you dive into job applications, make sure the companies you approach align with your values, aspirations and, importantly, their approach to workplace and lone worker safety.
Change is as good as a rest, isn’t it. If you made a decision to make a change, take the time to fully understand what it is that you need or want from your new job or career change. Avoid mass-applying to every company looking for a new candidate to join their team. Target the roles and organisations that genuinely fit you, clearly filling the gap that your current role gives you. Remember the saying “Jumping out of the frying pan into the fire”. Because of that, take time to position yourself as the stand-out applicant by understanding each employer’s culture, expectations and approach to staff wellbeing.
Our tips for finding a new job
- Review ALL of your online presence. Ensuring that it is up-to-date, and there’s no public evidence of some of your more colourful antics over the festive period or deep in the past.
- Additionally start networking online and offline in the fields that you are looking to work in. Not only does this increase your visibility but also reinforces what you are looking for and not.
- Finally make some amendments to your CV in preparation. One size fits all CV’s stand-out a mile. Make sure that you tweak your CV so it’s more specific to each role you’re applying for. Make sure your covering letter is very specific to the role and organisation. Coming across professional and personal, showing how you WILL be a valuable member of their team.
- Do your research and due diligence into the businesses that you have your eye on. How can you prove you’re their next best employee if you don’t care enough to find out about the organisation. How do you know this is going to be right for your career progression. This includes understanding their stance on workplace safety, lone working policies and wellbeing support, which are increasingly important for modern job seekers.
What attracts you to a company?
What do you look for in a business that you would like to work within?
- Are you motivated by their values, wages, holiday days, or sick pay?
- Maybe you would like to know more about their history, plans for the immediate future, or their long-term plans.
- Some people want to know about the roles available, the teams involved, and how the company measures success and progression.
But here’s a question many candidates forget to ask: Have you ever considered asking them about safety within the company, especially lone worker safety?
Safety Safety Safety
It is generally considered a given that when we approach a new company, they would be complying with all laws and latest safety policies and that you will be protected. But never assume! During your interviews, do you ever ask the question “How do you ensure that your staff are safe in your employ?” We aren’t just talking about risk assessments; machinery use and personal protective equipment. We are talking about Wellbeing and Lone Working?Understanding a company’s approach to lone worker safety can help you avoid stepping into a role where you may be placed at unnecessary risk.
Safety statistics
Key 2025 Workplace Health & Safety Stats (HSE):
- 11.9 million working people in Great Britain suffered from work-related ill health in 2024/25 (new and long-standing conditions). HSE
- 964,000 workers reported work-related stress, depression or anxiety. HSE
- 511,000 workers suffered a work-related musculoskeletal disorder. HSE
- 124 workers were killed in work-related accidents. HSE
- An estimated 680,000 people sustained a workplace injury (self-reported). HSE
- 59,219 injuries to employees were reported under RIDDOR. HCS Safety
- Ill health and injuries resulted in an estimated 40.1 million working days lost. press.hse.gov.uk
Some questions to ask at your interview if you will be required to work alone
- Do you expect staff to work alone or from home, even if it’s only for a short time?
- Does this company offer a system for protecting staff?
- Who is responsible if a lone worker fails to check in?
- Do you have a way for staff to log safety notes?
- How do they raise an alarm if they feel in danger?
- Do you ask for and record well-being information?
These may feel like bold questions, but a responsible employer will welcome them. Vague answers, hesitation or lack of a clear lone worker safety system should raise a red flag
Does the new job involve working from home?
Even if the role you are seeking is a homeworking role. Your employer has the same legal health and safety responsibilities toward their employees, whether you are working at home or in their workplace. So, the same questions should be asked about your safety, regardless of whether you are working from your own home, company site or out and about.
Home working does not remove an employer’s responsibility for your safety, wellbeing or lone working protection. Make sure they take it seriously.
Remember, you have responsibilities too!
Like any worker, you have responsibilities to take care of your own health and safety (and of course that of others around you). An additional question to ask your prospective employer would be “What do you see as my responsibility toward my safety and that of other employees I may come into contact with?”
Empower yourself with the knowledge to create a secure work environment. Your safety matters, no matter where you work. Even if you aren’t looking to move in a different direction, make sure you and the organisation you work in take their legal duty of care obligations seriously.
Good luck guys!
We wish you the very best of luck with your job search. If you want to understand more about lone worker safety or how employers can protect their staff, MyTeamSafe® provides an award-winning lone-worker App trusted by organisations across the UK.
Contact us today for a FREE trial at blog@myteamsafe.com.
MyTeamSafe®an award-winning lone-worker App & proud supporter of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust
Contact us today about our FREE trial blog@myteamsafe.com