Signs that workplace relations in the U.K. have taken a backward step are captured in a new employee survey from the company ClickJobs.io (the results of which have been made available to Digital Journal).
The survey findings highlight how toxic many workplaces still are in the U.K. with many workers experiencing bullying, homophobic behaviour and even sexual harassment. The national survey showed 42 percent of workers admitting they work in a so-termed ‘toxic workplace’. This is a colloquial term used to describe a place of work, usually an office environment, that is marked by significant personal conflicts between those who work there. The reference to ‘toxicity’ also infers that the resultant culture develops and spreads, to the extent that new employees face the prospect of becoming inculcated with the prevailing values of the firm.
Examples of ‘toxicity’ include the one in five employees (at 16 percent) who say they have witnessed sexual harassment and homophobic behaviour in their workplace. This comes in the context of a work environment where employees are stressed, communication is limited, and blame culture is rife.
Bullying (42 percent), offensive comments (37 percent) and discrimination (31 percent) top the list of inappropriate behaviours that employees have reportedly witnessed. This is followed by the relatively high figure who have registered homophobic behaviour, a finding that has been declared at the end of Pride Month.
A third of employees (31 percent) stated they have witnessed sexist behaviour and more disturbingly 17 percent had actually seen sexual harassment taking place in their workplace.
The survey paints a stark picture of the modern workplace and highlighted that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done by employers and Human Resources departments to ensure these types of behaviours are addressed and the appropriate culture developed. This is to the extent that Human Resources departments are able to exert sufficient influence upon the organisation culture.
Joe Boll, CEO at ClickJobs.io explains: “At CilckJobs.io we believe every employee deserves to work in a positive, non-toxic environment which is why we use the most cutting-edge tech to make it easy for anyone to find a new role. This survey certainly shows some disturbing results and shows that employers need to continue to work hard to ensure these behaviours are removed from workplaces.”
Those employees fortunate enough to be in unionised workplaces can also draw upon union resources and address the ‘toxic’ issues by collectively channelling their labour power.
