{"id":15302,"date":"2026-05-22T04:59:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T08:59:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cardinus.com\/us\/?p=15302"},"modified":"2026-05-22T04:59:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T08:59:37","slug":"practical-strategies-identifying-lone-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cardinus.com\/us\/practical-strategies-identifying-lone-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"Practical strategies for identifying your lone workers"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text margin_bottom=”0″ css=”.vc_custom_1779440272975{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]It\u2019s estimated that there are around 11 million \u201chidden\u201d lone workers across North America, meaning workers are facing significant unchecked hazards, exposing businesses to productivity, legal, and financial risks.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This makes it clear that there\u2019s a discovery and monitoring problem in lone worker management that needs to be resolved as a matter of urgency.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this guide, we outline eight practical methods of identifying lone workers as well as the frequency of lone work across your organization.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ensure leadership teams understand what lone working is and why it\u2019s dangerous<\/b><\/h2>\n

The most important step to identifying lone workers in your organization is to ensure that you and your leadership teams understand what qualifies as lone working. If you want to find something, you first need to know what you\u2019re looking for.<\/span><\/p>\n

Lone working is defined as any work carried out without close or direct supervision. In other words, if a task is carried out in an environment where no one else is around to offer immediate support when needed, it\u2019s lone work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whoever carries out these tasks is classed as a lone worker.<\/span><\/p>\n

The task doesn\u2019t have to be particularly risky, nor does it have to be geographically isolated to count as lone working. Lone working means isolated, not necessarily off-site.<\/span><\/p>\n

Learn more about lone working in our dedicated guide: <\/span>Lone worker safety: What qualifies as \u201clone working\u201d – and what are the risks?<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

Educate your team on lone working<\/b><\/h2>\n

Businesses often rely on employees self-reporting about lone working. After all, those carrying out the work are best positioned to speak on the subject. However, self-reporting is only an effective strategy if your team understands what lone working is and the risks at play.<\/span><\/p>\n

If an employee doesn\u2019t recognize that they are a lone worker, or carry out lone work as part of their broader tasks while working, they will not report as such. They are now a hidden lone worker, simply due to a lack of knowledge.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ensuring staff have a robust understanding of the definition of lone working, and how working without immediate assistance vastly increases risk exposure, ensures they can confidently report their status to managers. In turn, management can organize appropriate support.<\/span><\/p>\n

Deliver employee lone working surveys<\/b><\/h2>\n

Once your employees have a clear grasp of lone working as a concept and how it impacts their vulnerability, internal surveys can be an effective way to monitor who requires additional support and safety training.<\/span><\/p>\n

To reduce the chances of lone workers going unaccounted for, deliver the survey to every employee, rather than those who you already assume are lone workers.<\/span><\/p>\n

As well as more obvious queries to identify high-risk lone workers, the survey should ask questions that help shine a light on even minor instances of lone working. For example, questions like\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n