Almost one in three retail workers have considered leaving their jobs ahead of the holiday shopping season over safety concerns, a new study has found.
Research carried out by Researchscape also found majority of retail managers and staff are worried about crime in their stores, with at least half expressing concern over shoplifting and hostile customer interactions.
The findings come as 65 percent of workers believe more could be done when it comes to the safety of themselves and their colleagues
The research commissioned by Motorola Solutions, found workers felt safer with security technologies like mobile safety apps, body cameras, and other monitoring systems.
“As we approach peak shopping season, retail workers in Australia and New Zealand have clear concerns about potential crime and hostile interactions with customers, which can have harmful physical and mental impacts,” Motorola Solutions’ channel business in Asia Pacific managing director Martin Chappell said.
“Retail workers and managers point to technologies they believe can help curb these issues – deterring theft, de-escalating confrontations with customers and simultaneously notifying security workers and authorities of emergencies.
“Our research shows that the right security measures can improve feelings of safety.”
Retail workers revealed they felt more concerned about their own safety when thinking about the holiday shopping season.
More than two-thirds of those surveyed said they expected stores to be short-staff during the period.
The cost-of-living crisis and high interest rates have been blamed for an increase in retail crime across the country, including Victoria.
The most recent crime statistics revealed a 7.9 per cent increase in overall criminal offences, with retail crime among the top offences.
