The Hidden Workforce: 25 Million Americans Work Alone (And Many Are Dying)

Working practices in the US are constantly evolving, with more workers than ever now operating without regular supervision. Known as lone workers, they make up a large portion of the US workforce across all sorts of industries. While affording workers the responsibility of working alone allows companies to spread their employees further, it can expose them to various dangers.

Accidents, medical emergencies, and attacks are all more dangerous without the support of colleagues to help or raise the alarm. This is manifesting itself in the form of worrying statistics about lone worker mortality in the US.

In this article, we’ll analyze these statistics, as well as discussing what makes working alone such a dangerous prospect.

The scale of lone working in the US

Lone working, is more common than ever, especially in a post-pandemic world. In fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimaties that 25 million people in the US work without supervision. This accounts for around 15-20% of the country’s total workforce. The number is potentially a lowball estimation too, as a large number of lone workers don’t class themselves as such.

This is because of a slight misconception of the meaning of the term ‘lone worker’, with some believing it applies to those operating in isolated, remote locations. In actual fact, the term is far broader than this, including anyone that works out of earshot of colleagues who could provide immediate assistance.

It’s this lack of immediate assistance that makes lone working risky, especially if the worker is in a physical industry or working with heavy machinery.

Industries with the highest risk of fatality

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, yearly workplace fatalities in the US have hovered between 4,764 in 2020 and 5,486 in 2022. The most recent statistic is from 2024, which saw 5,070 fatal work injuries. Wage and salary workers make up the bulk of these numbers, with fatal work injuries among self-employed people averaging 899.2 a year between 2020-2024. This means that self-employed workers, who often work alone, are 3.3 times more likely to die on the job than salaried workers.

While these fatalities have occurred across a wide range of professions, some industries are deadlier than others. Logging workers face the largest risk by far, with a fatal work injury rate of 110.4 out of 100,000. This is because of the use of heavy machinery, working in unpredictable conditions, and working with objects of extreme weight.

In terms of lone worker fatalities, the statistics are based on assumptions rather than fact, as the lone worker fatality rate isn’t officially counted. However, the top three occupations for fatalities (logging, hunting/fishing, and roofing), can involve lone working, especially on small-scale operations.

The most common cause of death among workers in the US in 2024 was roadway collisions with other vehicles. Another of the main causes was exposure to harmful substances and environments. It’s common for lone workers to operate in environments that expose them to noxious fumes and unpredictable, close-quartered environments, such as HVAC techs and welders.

Unfortunately, undercounting of lone worker populations makes it difficult to deduce exactly how many of these deaths were linked to lone working.

Why are lone worker populations often undercounted?

Despite the national statistics for lone worker deaths being high, they are widely undercounted and are understood to be higher in reality. This adds to the dangers that lone workers face, as if they aren’t classified as such, they are unlikely to receive adequate safeguarding and protection while on the job.

It also lowers the statistics surrounding lone worker incidents and fatalities, which can reduce the urgency at which safeguarding regulations are implemented.

Here’s why lone worker populations and subsequent incidents are often undercounted:

• Self-misrepresentation: It’s often the case that employees won’t class themselves as lone workers, even if they work alone a lot of the time. This might be because they maintain communication with colleagues digitally, or because they work alongside others at points during the week. As a result, it will contribute towards lowered numbers in surveys and worker censuses.

• Lack of employer recognition: The blame for the misrepresentation of lone workers also falls on the employers. A lax approach to employee identification can result in some employees not being recognised as lone workers. These employees can include janitors, maintenance workers, or those deemed ‘hidden’ as they work out of sight.

• Remote-working issues: If a worker is operating in a remote area, a lack of signal or WiFi connection may result in them struggling to check in, making them difficult to track.

• Poor incident reporting: Incidents or unsafe working conditions aren’t always reported by lone workers. This may be because of shock, a lack of willingness to speak up, or because reporting isn’t deemed a priority and eventually gets forgotten about.

Another point to consider is the effect the pandemic had on the workplace in the US. Working from home and hybrid working was introduced by many companies, who have continued to use the model in the years since. This sudden influx of people who can be deemed lone workers has made the numbers even more difficult to count accurately.

What better lone worker data collection could mean

Better lone worker data collection could prompt an advancement in health and safety for those who work unsupervised. It would transition safety approaches from reactive to proactive, predicting and preventing accidents from happening in the first place rather than reacting though it were an unforeseen event.

By analyzing data, management teams could identify trends in lone worker injuries. This will allow them to change procedures, provide better training, or assign more than one worker to certain tasks. It will also help them to improve risk assessments, keeping the understanding of the dangers that workers face up to date.

Understanding the threats that lone workers face will encourage managers to make use of modern lone worker technology. This includes lone worker alarms, such as those offered by SureSafe, which include automatic fall detection, panic buttons, and GPS tracking, which will ensure a rapid response if a lone worker were to come into trouble.

Ensure the safety of lone workers with a SureSafe lone worker device

Whatever the occupation may be, those who work alone are at greater risk of harm, with nobody in earshot to help out if a situation were to arise. And with lone workers making up such a large portion of the US workforce, more needs to be done to keep them safe. With a SureSafe lone worker device, you can do just that.

Our devices are designed with lone worker risks in mind, containing features such as automatic fall detection. This feature sends a distress signal to our 24/7 monitoring teams when it detects a worker has fallen. This allows them to get the help they need even if they are unable to physically press the device’s panic button.

With a lone worker monitoring device, both workers and employers are granted the assurance that if something was to go wrong, help would be close by. If you would like to learn more about our products, contact us on 888 919 4472. You can also get in touch using our live chat, or request a call back from one of our experts.