Nov 10

Nov 10 Reversing an age of pervasive insecurity By John Zogby

I have been a professional pollster since 1984 and have tested sentiment during good and bad times. But I have never seen to the degree I see now how Americans of all ages are worried about their present and future. My firm was commissioned by Navigate360, a full-spectrum safety provider which offers emergency prevention and preparedness solutions to schools and offices, to survey 1000 adults and 303 16-17-year-olds about safety and security. Among adults, two in three say they think more about their physical and emotional safety than just six months ago. Only 10% say they think less about it and just 19% think the same. This level of worry or introspection is across the board among demographic groups but it is particularly high among households where parents are living with at least one child under 17 at home as well as on both ends of the income spectrum.

Overall, 61% of the teens surveyed say they are thinking more about their physical and emotional safety and wellness as they did 6 months ago and the same percentage (61%) feels it is very or somewhat likely that they or someone close to them will “encounter a violent critical incident, experience self-hard, or contract Covid-19 or another communicable disease”. And a majority (54%) feels that such an incident “could prevent them from achieving fulfillment of your goals like the highest educational level or optimum career choice”. This is tantamount to a safe dropping from the sky and a heavy burden to drop on our kids.

Indeed, months into the pandemic a majority of Americans young, old, and in between, only feel safe at home. Two in five (41%) of adults with a workplace feel less safe about their workplace than 6 months ago while only 23% feel safer and 33% feel about the same. More than half (52%) feel less safe about their or their children’s school as only 15% feel more safe and 27% feel it is about the same. While 41% feel less safe about their place of worship (where applicable), a majority of 54% feel insecure of the safety of their favorite restaurant.

The insecurity that is rearing its head is not only about their own well-being. Three in five (59%) of the adults polled say either they themselves or someone close to them are very or somewhat likely to “encounter a violent critical incident, experience self-harm, or contract Cove-19 or another communicable disease”. And 46% believe that could prevent them from achieving fulfillment of their life’s goals in education or career.

American optimism is almost a cliché. “We put a man on the moon”, is among the saying. But that optimism and sense of confidence seem to be slipping at the moment. In a series of questions the Navigate360/John Zogby Strategies poll posed to adults, we wondered to what degree they had confidence in their institutions and leadership to provide them security in a time of crisis. The following chart indicates their reactions to these statements.

The following figures represent the percentages of adults who had high confidence (selecting 4 or 5 on a scale of 1 to 5)

Workplace and school leaders believe safety is a high priority (56%)

You and your colleagues know who to call and where to report a threat (52%)

Your workplace or school has a defined process to report threats (50%)

Your workplace/school has good communications/accessibility to information (49%)

School and workplace officials can perform what they’re trained to do (47%)

School and workplace leaders are doing their best to create an atmosphere of physical and emotional safety (47%)

Workplace and school leaders have a comprehensive plan to deal with an emergency (46%)

You and your colleagues/schoolmates will know what to do in an emergency (45%)

Your school/workplace is spending enough time and money to keep you safe (43%)

In case of an emergency, there will be minimum loss because you received good training (40%)

Today’s Gen Z teens are an age cohort not known for trusting familiar institutions and leaders. The current crisis only seems to have exacerbated that rejection. Just how safe do they feel in case of an emergency situation in their school?

The following table ranks high confidence (i.e. ratings of 4 and 5 on a scale of 1-5).

School leaders believe safety is a high priority (56%)

Your school has a comprehensive plan to deal with an emergency (50%)

Your school has good communications and accessibility to information (49%)

Your schools is doing its best to create an atmosphere of physical and emotional safety (49%)

School officials can perform what they’re trained to do (48%)

You and your classmates know who to call and where to report a threat (47%)

Your workplace or school has a defined process to report threats/incidents (42%)

Your school/workplace is spending enough time and money to keep you safe (42%)

In case of an emergency, there will be minimum loss because you received good training (33%)

You and your schoolmates have received adequate training in case of an emergency (31%)

There is so much at stake here as a result of this pandemic. It is not just the growing preoccupation with safety, personal security, and a declining sense of optimism for the future. It is about at least half of all Americans and teens in particular who have no faith in workplace, school, spiritual, local and national leadership to have the skills or concern to make things better.

The only way we are going to make progress in settling fears and building a culture of trust again at our workplaces and schools is through successful private and public partnerships. Collaboration has never been more essential.

John Zogby (@TheJohnZogby) is the founder of the Zogby Poll and Zogby companies, including John Zogby Strategies, and author of We Are Many We Are One: Neo-Tribes and Tribal Analytics in the 21st Century America