EHS On Tap Podcast — With Baby Boomers retiring and Gen X, Millennials and Gen Z taking the helm, Bailey Whitsitt, Compliance Counsel at Traliant, says retailers must rethink how they approach workplace safety to meet the needs and expectations of these younger generations.  

Addressing violent workplace incidents and increasing state laws to prevent them, Whitsitt says employers cannot afford to overlook workforce age when developing programs to address prevention training and reporting. She cites a Traliant survey of over 500 full-time U.S. retail employees from organizations with more than 100 employees, conducted in October 2024. 

“Our polling reveals that generational differences among retail employees affect how they approach safety and their attitudes toward learning. Organizations need to understand these differences to enhance workplace violence prevention programs and create safer work environments.” — Bailey Whitsitt, Compliance Counsel at Traliant

Traliant’s “Retail Report: 2024 Workplace Violence Prevention” found that 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. Generation Zers, born in 1997 and later, also reported the highest rates (86%) of completed workplace violence prevention training, compared to Baby Boomers (77%), Gen X (74%) and Millennials (78%). 

These insights underscore the need for tailored workplace safety strategies that consider generational preferences and behaviors, particularly in industries like retail where the risk of workplace violence is heightened. 

Click here to listen to the full podcast. 

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