A global safety charity is calling for reform of workplace policies after its research uncovered that a fifth of people worldwide (21%) have experienced at least one form of violence and harassment at work in their working lifetime.
More worryingly, it also found that a majority of those who had experienced violence and harassment at work had experienced it multiple times – 61 percent in instances of psychological harassment, and 56 percent and 52 percent respectively for physical or sexual violence and harassment, highlighting a need for a zero-tolerance approach.
Harassment at work
The report also found that, at a global level, men were fractionally more likely to report experience of workplace violence and harassment than women (22% vs 20%), though its nature varies between the sexes.
While psychological harassment was found to be the most common form experienced by both men and women, it was found that for a third of women (33%) who had experienced violence or harassment, there was a sexual element (compared with for 15% of men).
The survey found that men’s second most common experience was a combination of psychological and physical violence and harassment (accounting for 20% or one in five male experiences), while for women it was sexual violence and harassment.
Who are statistically the most vulnerable groups?
A number of subgroups were also highlighted by the poll as being more vulnerable, further demonstrating a need for inclusive workplace policies. Three in 10 (30%) migrant women said they had experienced some form of violence and harassment at work, compared with two in five women (21%) working in their country of birth. This also affected the likelihood of reporting the incident.
Overall, 61.1 percent of native-born women told someone about their experience of violence and harassment – compared to 56.5 percent of foreign-born women.
More broadly, the report identified that those who had experienced discrimination were at heightened risk. As such, almost two in five people globally (39%) who had experienced any form of discrimination – such as gender, ethnicity or disability-based – said they had also experienced violence and harassment at work, compared to 16 percent of those who had not experienced discrimination.
Dr Sarah Cumbers, Director of Evidence and Insight at Lloyd’s Register Foundation, said:
“This is the first time we have had global, comparable data on violence and harassment at work, and the resulting figures are daunting. The situation looks even worse when we delve deeper into the data to look at the experiences of some more vulnerable groups – such as migrant women and those who have experienced discrimination.
“From the Word Risk Poll data, we can also see that many people haven’t told anyone about their experiences – for instance, because the procedures for doing so were unclear, or because they felt no action would be taken. That’s why employers must establish and clearly communicate robust anti-violence and harassment policies and build workplace environments where employees feel comfortable coming forward, with the knowledge that something will be done about it.
“Our research has found a majority of those who have experienced violence and harassment at work will experience it again, emphasising the importance of early intervention and not dismissing incidents as ‘one offs’. We hope our report will encourage lawmakers around the world to strengthen legal frameworks, and companies to re-evaluate their culture, policies and processes.”
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
It is interesting to learn that globally, more men report harassment than women. It is such a shame to know that bullying and harassment are so common in the workplace. We agree with Dr Sarah Cumbers that hopefully organisations are encouraged to address these kind of issues which occur on a daily basis by re-evaluating their culture and processes – there are many solutions out there if they are determined which can have such positive implications on many aspects of the business.