Speaking Up in the Workplace

Workplace bullying and harassment thrives in a culture where its perpetrators do not face repercussion and bystanders and victims stay silent. In order to tackle workplace conflicts a vital initial step is to create a culture where it is seen as everybody's responsibility to call out and report bad behaviour in the knowledge they will be listened too.

The CIPD Report 'How Employers are tackling bullying and harassment at work' looks at wider discussion around this topic. We have focused on some key finding around the importance of a 'Speak Up' culture and the current landscape we are seeing.

Key Findings

The CIPD reports that employers surveyed in ‘Labour Market Outlook 2024’ have confidence that their workplaces promote a culture of giving employees the confidence to speak up about bullying and harassment, with 75% agreeing that this is the case in their organisation.

However, this is in contrast with the employees surveyed in ‘CIPD Good Work Index 2024’, where 47% of those who had experienced conflict had ‘let it go’ rather than speaking up, with only a third approaching a line manager about the situation.

The Impact

This disparity can inevitably lead to a worsening culture of speaking up, as leaders fail to promote or put in place firm policies, believing that all is fine.

These statistics highlight the importance of gaining regular and frequent feedback from employees on the culture they feel is present, to avoid the management teams having a rose-tinted view of any issues.

Action Needed

In order to promote a ‘speak-up’ culture in your workplace in regards to bullying and harassment, we have summarised key points to consider:

• Promote widely the ways in which employees can raise concerns
• Ensure these routes are numerous and diverse so employees can choose what they feel comfortable with. Confidential reporting, routes outside of direct line managers and third parties should all be in place.
• Act on any reports quickly and robustly, to start building a culture of trust that concerns will be taken seriously.
• Training of line managers of how to deal with concerns as they are raised is paramount.
• The CIPD recommends a ‘dignity at work’ advisor role, where colleagues are upskilled to be a sounding board for any concerns on bulling, conflict and harassment.  

The full CIPD Report 'How Employers are tackling bullying and harassment at work' can be viewed here.