The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) this month released its annual Corporate Listening Tour—capturing key insights and feedback from safety executives on trends they see impacting the safety profession.

The 2026 report, announced on the 115^th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire on March 25, reveals five critical themes in workplace environmental health and safety:

• Workforce stability in safety and health: Addressing chronic skill gaps and rapid onboarding pressures driving safety risk.

   

• Safety and health is a value, not a metric: Integrating safety into operational excellence and business strategy.

   

• Technology augments humanity: Embracing AI, automation, and technology through ethics, transparency, and trust.

   

• Health is infrastructure: Treating worker well-being, including mental health and psychological safety, as foundational to productivity.

   

• Leadership is relational: Empowering hybrid professionals who lead through influence and trust rather than authority alone.

“From what we’re hearing across the safety industry, it’s clear the time for passive observation has passed,” says Jennifer McNelly, ASSP’s CEO. “The Corporate Listening Tour affirmed that as workplace complexity accelerates, safety can no longer operate as a standalone function. We’re at an exciting crossroads where safety is becoming a core business operating system rather than a functional checkbox, and we’re moving beyond understanding challenges to operationalizing solutions.”

Read more about the Corporate Listening Tour and download the 2026 report on the ASSP website.