Omnichannel

Gen Z retail workers not keen on reporting workplace violence without anonymity

Photo: Adobe Stock (AI generated)

November 19, 2024

Nearly half of Gen Z retail workers (49%) will only report workplace violence if they could make the report in an anonymous manner and more than a third (38%) have witnessed workplace violence happening to another employee in the last five years compared to 13% of Baby Boomers, 20% of Gen X and 22% of millennials.

Those are findings from a Traliant report revealing generational differences in workplace violence prevention training and reporting. Traliant is a provider of online compliance training.

The study, "The Retail Report: Traliant's 2024 Workplace Violence Prevention Pulse Survey," polled over 500 full-time U.S. retail employees, according to a press release.

"The retail industry is a challenging space as employees are at higher risk for workplace violence and employers have a growing list of requirements to contend with when it comes to keeping their workers safe," Michael Johnson, chief strategy officer at Traliant, said in the release. "Our study identifies critical areas where retailers need to understand generational differences in the workforce so they can enhance workplace violence prevention programs and create safer work environments."

Additional findings include:

• 78% of Baby Boomers would report a scenario where they feared for their own or a coworker's safety without being anonymous, while Gen Z was less willing, with only 42% saying they would attach their name to a report.
• 38% of retail workers feel their employers are extremely supportive in promoting a speak-up culture, where employees can report misconduct without fear of retaliation.