Almost two thirds of people here think health and safety of employees is the most important responsibility for corporates and one which requires greater rules and regulations.
While the use of or reliance on child labour is seen by 58% as the area of highest responsibility for employers, followed by prevention of the overcharging of customers, which was backed by 56%.
The research was carried out by iReach on behalf of the Compliance Institute and involved the polling of 1,000 adults around the country.
"The findings indicate a strong concern for the protection and well-being of workers," said Michael Kavanagh, CEO of the institute.
"It is, of course, incumbent on all employers to prioritise the health and safety of their employees but unfortunately as evidenced by news stories from other countries this is not always the case."
"The second-ranked priority, the regulation of child labour, demonstrates a significant social consciousness among survey respondents."
"Child labour is an acute global issue, and more and more we see the general public calling for a clampdown and for strict penalty enforcement for entities that choose to flout the rules."
Women are stronger backers of the need for tighter rules and regulations in nearly all areas than men.
While two thirds of women think greater equality of pay between genders in similar roles is required.
Support for tighter regulation across all business areas is stronger among those aged 55+ than among younger cohorts.
While a fifth of respondents say they think companies should be required to donate a percentage of their profits to charities or the local community.
40% claim that companies should make use of renewable energy to meet their own energy needs.
