Ray Seghers, director of research for the institute, said the survey, which primarily measures workforce commitment, has been looking at employee safety for the last few years. While the question of physical safety on the job, related to injury, has remained steady, for 2002, coming in at 9 percent, there has been a notable increase on the psychological safety side, he said.

Of those employees surveyed this year, 17 percent of those questioned said they are concerned about "psychological safety"--freedom from fear, intimidation or harassment--a 4 percent increase over two years ago, Mr. Seghers said.

Thirty-six percent said they feel their employers do nothing to help reduce stress on the job, and 18 percent said they worry about job security.

The report indicates that some employers need to recognize there are problems in the workplace that need to be addressed, Mr. Seghers pointed out.

"Many organizations just go along only concerned about getting the job done," Mr. Seghers observed. "What we hope is that this report would give them some reason for soul searching and examining their own workplace practices."

Not addressing these issues causes stress to employees that can lead to higher costs for organizations Mr. Seghers noted.

These costs, he said, come in the form of job training because of a high rate of turnover; increased absenteeism, which causes low productivity; and increased benefit costs due to overly stressed employees turning to their health care system for stress related maladies.

Thirty-six percent of employees responding to the survey said the management and communication of changes within their organization fails to meet their expectations. When it comes to involving employees in changes, 37 percent said the involvement falls below their expectations.

Overall, the "Workforce Commitment Index," a measure of how employees rate productivity, pride in their organization, and intention to remain with their current employer, has dropped.

Working from a norm of 100 set in 1997, the index fell from a high last year of 101.1, shortly after the events of 9/11, to 98.1 this year.

The lowest the index has been is 97, a figure recorded in February of 2001.

"We hope that our study gives organizations the information to stop and think and evaluate where they are," explained Mr. Seghers. "We want to help organizations see where they are and this is to help them in this matter."

More information is available at www.aon.com.