Nearly half of all U.S. workers have at least some concerns about the security of their homes while they work. They worry about burglary, package theft, and other property crimes. Perhaps some of them worry about fire and flood as well. But should they?
The experts were curious to know America’s thinking on home security in relation to working hours. As someone who has been researching and writing on home security for years, I get it. The majority of all residential burglaries occur during the day – when kids are in school and parents are at work. So it would make sense that people who pay attention to such things might experience some anxiety while at work.
Interesting Survey Results
In order to get a handle on what American workers think about security, Vivint conducted a comprehensive survey among 1,000 adults. The respondents were split evenly between remote and in-office workers. What they learned from the survey was interesting, if not surprising. You are some of the more poignant numbers, at least to me:
- 42% of office workers are concerned about security while at work.
- 55% are concerned about porch piracy.
- 46% are concerned about family members or pet safety.
- 39% are concerned about trespassing and similar crimes.
- 39% are concerned about burglary.
- 36% are concerned about fire or another type of emergency.
So many people being concerned about so many things tell me something about our culture: for whatever reason, we feel less safe today than our parents and grandparents did. I can attest to that personally. When I was young, we never locked our doors or cars. We were not alone. It was fairly common in my neighborhood. I was a pre-teen before we started locking doors, and that was only at night.
These days, experts recommend keeping windows and doors locked at all times – even when we’re home. Does that mean there is more crime today, or are we just more aware of our own vulnerabilities? It is hard to say.
Porch Piracy Is a Big Problem
Porch piracy is a big problem if the survey is to be believed. Nearly 1 in every 5 office workers reports having experienced package theft during the work day. We know from other sources that porch piracy costs consumers approximately $8 billion annually. Could this contribute to security concerns?
I ask only because I can vouch for the fact that being victimized by crime just once has the habit of making one feel insecure in nearly every aspect of life. I was the target of an armed robbery as a teenager. It was years before I truly felt safe again.
I know people who have been victims of burglary. Each one has told me the same thing: the crime made them feel insecure and helpless. They were more careful about everything after that. I can imagine the same thing applying to package theft. After a criminal has stolen from you once, it’s easy to find yourself worrying about all sorts of crimes.
Fortunately, there are things we can do to combat every kind of crime. Let us go back to porch piracy. Some 55% of the survey respondents said they would like to see package lockers made available in the workplace. Then they could have their packages delivered to the lockers and know that the packages are safe.
Workers With Security Systems
The survey also asked questions about home security systems. Among those reporting having systems, approximately 40% said they check their video feeds multiple times daily. Experts also ran the numbers and concluded that the average worker with security cameras to check spends a total of 65 work hours doing so every year.
It’s one of those statistics that makes complete sense to me. If you have gone to the trouble of installing security cameras in your home, the natural tendency is to check them. Waiting until you get an alert makes it extremely difficult to be proactive. On the other hand, taking a quick glance at your video feeds once every hour or so makes you much more likely to discover problems in the earliest possible stages.
The survey also revealed that about 60% of America’s workers make the effort to give the appearance that their homes are occupied during the workday. Strangely 5% also admitted to leaving their houses and cars unlocked while working.
In-Office and Remote Work
The most surprising aspects of the survey, at least to me, were the attitudes expressed in direct relation to how working in the office or remotely impacted a person’s sense of security. For instance, 40% of the respondents expressed a preference to work remotely due to security concerns. They felt less safe at work than they believed they would feel at home.
On the other hand, 25% reported feeling safer when working with other people. Their safety concerns led them to say they are preferable to working in the office.
One last statistic I want to briefly discuss involves the following question: how concerned are you about your security while working from home? A majority (57%) said they were not at all concerned. Interestingly, 30% said they were extremely concerned while 12% reported being neutral.
The fact that 30% of remote workers do not feel safe working from home tells me that, as a whole, we feel less safe today than in the past. I am thankful to count myself among the majority of remote workers who have no concern whatsoever about security while at home.
We All Have to Deal With It
The big takeaway for me is that home security is something we all need to deal with. We all have our own level of security and safety. We’re all concerned about things like burglary, trespassing, and fire. How we deal with those concerns is as different as we are. That’s okay, as long as we can feel safe when all is set and done.