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Violence and harassment at work ‘almost always a pattern’, study finds
Violence and harassment at work ‘almost always a pattern’, study finds
Violence and harassment in the British workplace is rife, after a global safety charity report found that 26% of people have experienced it in their working lifetime – above the global average of 21%. The new report, Safe at Work? Global experiences of violence and harassment, based on Lloyd’s Register Foundation’s World Risk Poll, powered by Gallup, also found that 58% of British respondents who have experienced workplace violence and harassment say this has happened three or more times.
While the report suggests that men are fractionally more likely to report having experienced violence and harassment at work at a global level (22% vs 20% of women), the most vulnerable sub-groups, as identified by the report, are mostly comprised of women.
For example, women with a tertiary education were found to be second most at risk globally, with 29% (or 36% in the UK) reporting experiences of violence and harassment at work. In comparison, 15% of women with primary education only (25% in the UK) reported the same experiences, highlighting a gap between education levels.
Globally, those already affected by discrimination outside of work – for instance gender, ethnicity or disability-based – are twice as likely to experience violence and harassment in the workplace (39% compared to 16%). In the UK, 48% of those who had experienced discrimination on the basis of gender had faced violence and harassment at work.
Suzanne Maybud, an international consultant on gender equality and women’s advancement in the workplace, commented: “While many are aware of violence and harassment in the workplace, the country-specific figures, provided by Lloyd’s Register Foundation, are especially valuable to showcase just how widespread it can be in any given location – and who’s most at risk.
“While certain groups, including university-educated women, showed higher rates of violence and harassment in the workplace, it’s important to remember other vulnerable groups may not feel as empowered to report it, meaning the actual figures could be even higher.
“There’s almost always a pattern to it. That’s why an inclusive, zero-tolerance approach to labour laws must be taken by policymakers. This will enable those suffering from violence or harassment in the workplace to feel comfortable enough to report it – with the knowledge that there will be real consequences for the perpetuators. By taking a strong stance, lawmakers have a real opportunity to engineer cultural change that can then trickle down to the company level and protect all workers.”
Dr Sarah Cumbers, Director of Evidence and Insight at Lloyd’s Register Foundation, added: “The World Risk Poll provides the first global and comparable measure of violence and harassment in the workplace, information which is critical to support serious and targeted action to tackle the issue in countries around the world.
“While some of the countries and groups that report the highest levels of experience may at first glance be surprising, this granular data helps us to understand both where interventions are needed to address a recognised problem, and where further work may be required to raise awareness and encourage greater reporting.”
To compile the global report, 125,000 people across 121 countries were polled about their experiences of workplace violence and harassment. All those interviewed were given a comprehensive definition of ‘violence and harassment’.
More women taking flight and joining the aviation industry
More women taking flight and joining the aviation industry
In 2021, female pilots made up around 64,979 of total FAA-certified pilots, accounting for only 9%, a recent survey showed. Professions like mechanics, maintenance crew member, or flight engineers are not breaching 10% as well. While women still remain a minority in the industry, there has been a slow but steady increase of female aviation professionals.
Compared to 2017, there has been a 52% increase in women pilots – from 42,694 to 64,979 – and a 20% increase in mechanics – from 6,855 to 8,231. Some even predict that in the near future, one in four pilots will be a woman behind the yoke.
“Unfortunately, the road for women in piloting, aviation mechanics or engineering is still a rocky one,” explains Alison Dsouza, Director of Aerviva Aviation Consultancy, a Dubai-based international consultancy, specialisng in aviation recruitment and document management. “A positive is that while there were no drastic changes in the past 10 years or so, there is a notable increase in women aviation professionals overall. In recent years women became more assertive in terms of pursuing their dream career paths in aviation. This is mostly reflected by the growing number of female pilots across the age groups.”
According to a recent survey, India has taken the spot of the leading country when it comes to female pilots worldwide, with roughly 12.4% – twice the global average. Comparatively, in Ireland just 9.9% pilots are female, whilst in UK only 4.7%.
“On the other hand, we see more women pilots being represented in the media and various campaigns set to bring better spotlight on the industry,” stresses Dsouza. “Such projects encourage both young girls that are still at school and working women to pursue their passion. There is no such thing as a male or female profession, so inspiring both young and old is important. And these slow and steady numbers are, too, changing the game – one step at a time.”
Not only airlines, but training organisations are taking action in shining light on the still-small numbers of women in aviation. Several scholarship programs have been initiated that offer fully funded training for a select number of recipients.
While the progress could have a quicker pace, the steadily increasing numbers and stories of women in aviation give hope that bringing more attention on these role models will encourage more women to pursue a career in aviation – be it a pilot, a mechanic, or a ground handler.
LATEST VACANCY: Head of Faculty – Salary: £75k
VACANCY AT ROFFEY PARK INSTITUTE: Head of Faculty – Salary: £75k
Remote working with some travel to Roffey Park Sites
Become part of Roffey Park Institute’s story and make a difference in the world of work by enabling people to flourish! If you have a passion for developing people and organisations, you are an energetic and engaging leader with extensive experience in designing and delivering high-impact learning solutions, Roffey Park Institute want to hear from you!
Details
Purpose of Role:
The overarching purpose of the role of Head of Faculty is to develop, nurture and lead a high-performing Faculty team of Programme Directors who are focussed on, and committed to, exceptional client experience.
Reporting to the Director of Operations, the Head of Faculty is globally accountable for high-quality programming and resource allocation, for delivery across all areas of Roffey Park Institute including:
- OD Consultancy
- Open Programmes
- Tailored Delivery
Key Relationships:
Working closely with the Head of Client Programme Management and the Head of Research, Thought Leadership and Academic Delivery, the Head of Faculty will work collaboratively to develop a strong team, supporting the integrated delivery of RPI Operations. Other relationships include working with the Director of Sales & Marketing and Director of Business Intelligence & Technology.
Key Responsibilities:
Managing and Nurturing the Faculty:
- Setting the KPIs for the Faculty team with the Director of Operations, in line with the organisations strategy
- Developing collective and individual goals for the team
- Fostering a collaborative culture
- Providing honest feedback and agreeing development plans for team members.
Allocating resources to programmes and business development:
- Working with the Sales and Marketing team to identify business development opportunities, ensuring faculty resources for proposal development are provided.
- Working with the Head of Client Programme Management to determine resource demand and support the allocation of faculty and associate resources to programmes
- Managing the workload of Faculty to ensure the optimal performance and wellbeing of the team.
Fostering the Associate community:
- Identifying the gaps within our Associate pool and taking action to address their concerns
- Ensuring an active, vibrant and engaging Associate pool that is relevant and current, to meet our client’s needs
- Ensuring robust Associate on-boarding and off-boarding processes are in place, arranging regular meetings of the Nominations Committee to consider new Associates
Leading by example in your own area of specialism:
- Having a broad knowledge across all delivery areas to provide support and guidance to the team
- Actively delivering programmes to maintain current practice
- Thought leadership and learning:
- Encouraging and participating in events and activities that profile RPI’s thought leadership
- Fostering a learning culture across the Faculty and Associate pools through the development of communities of practice and associated learning events.
Benefits
Life Insurance
Private Medical Insurance
36 days annual leave
Annualised Hours
About you:
As an energetic and engaging individual, you will have significant experience in team management and leadership. A credible and influential communicator with extensive experience of designing and delivering creative and impactful development solutions, you are able to analyse complex problems and think systemically.
With excellent project management skills, technology proficiency and quality orientation, you are resilient and able to reflect self critically.
Ideally, with a Masters qualification in a relevant discipline and a coaching qualification, you can demonstrate your practical experience in Organisational Design and Development, Human Resources, People Management or Learning & Development
APPLICATION DEADLINE: 10th February 2023
Employees report increase in suicidal thoughts, reveals new workplace wellbeing report
Employees report increase in suicidal thoughts, reveals new workplace wellbeing report from Champion Health
A study of 4,170 employees has revealed that the amount of professionals experiencing moderate to high levels of stress has increased, affecting 76% of our workforce, a year-on-year increase of 13%. Worryingly, workers experiencing suicidal thoughts has also increased from 8% to 9%.
Data released recently by global workplace wellbeing provider Champion Health gives an insight into the health and wellbeing of the working population between January 2022 and October 2022.
Financial worries are reported as the leading cause for stress outside of work, cited by 37%, a 23% increase on last year’s report whilst perceived workload features as the highest cause of stress in work (73%).
The data, which has been published in Champion Health’s annual report also revealed that:
- 60% of employees feel anxious with 56% experiencing low mood
- Females are 22% more likely to feel anxious (65% female compared to 53% male)
- Younger workers are most likely to experience anxiety and depression (67% of 16–24-year-olds experience symptoms of anxiety with 61% reporting symptoms of depression and 66% of 25–34-year-olds reporting symptoms of anxiety and 60% claim symptoms of depression)
- Poor mental health negatively affects the performance of 1 in 5 employees
- 81% say that they feel tired and 71% rate their sleep as ‘average’ or ‘worse’
- Over 50% of employees rate their productivity as ‘average’ ‘below average’ or ‘low’ with 61% reporting tiredness impacts productivity
- The survey showed that people feel most energised to work at 10.21am and are least energised at 3.31pm.
In addition, team culture and feeling supported at work positively correlates with mental wellbeing and productivity. Those who report ‘feeling part of a team’ experience greater positive mental wellbeing and feel more productive.
Whilst the findings point to a decline in our workers health, it’s not all doom and gloom as 98% of employees feel motivated to improve their wellbeing. 42% cite they’d like to boost their energy levels, closely followed by 41% reporting they’d like to lose weight. When asked what the barriers are to making health changes, 47% report willpower as the biggest barrier followed by 43% stating they face a lack of time.
Harry Bliss, CEO and co-founder of Champion Health, says that while the findings are worrying there is a positive in the amount of employees reporting they feel motivated to improve their wellbeing and that business leaders have an opportunity to improve workplace culture and support employees to thrive.
Bliss comments: “It’s no surprise that the last few years have been extremely tough on employees, and I’m really concerned about the findings of this report. The fact that workers experiencing suicidal thoughts has increased is terrifying; whilst a 1% increase from last year to 9% may seem low on the face of it, it isn’t, this means that in a workforce of 1,000 staff, 90 will be having thoughts about taking their own lives which could have a devastating impact.
“Leaders need to step up and support their workforce, it is not only the moral thing to do but this research shows poor mental health, stress, and fatigue is increasingly affecting productivity, so it is also within the best interests of businesses.
“Companies can help turn this dangerous pattern around by making employee wellbeing a priority; and doing so goes beyond having much happier employees. It will enable employers to retain great people who are motivated to complete brilliant work, day in, day out.”
Gender Recognition Bill: What does it mean for Scotland’s employers?
What does Scotland’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill mean for employers?
The Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) Bill was passed by MSPs in Scotland on 22nd December. It makes it quicker and easier for individuals in Scotland to gain legal recognition of their transition from their birth sex to an acquired gender, cutting the waiting time from two years to three months and removing the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria.
The latest hurdle for the implementation of the Bill is the UK Government’s announcement to block the Bill from getting Royal Assent due to concerns surrounding wider Equality laws which are decided by Westminster, not devolved to Nations. An important decision to block it was announced this week from the UK Government but Scotland is will ‘vigorously contest’ the opposition to the Bill.
Whilst the constitutional row on the matter continues, with inevitable court intervention, Employment Solicitor at WorkNest, Kirstie Beattie, explains what it could mean for employers and the workplace.
“As the news around the Bill continues, care should be taken to monitor any workplace discussion about what is often an emotive topic. All employees should be trained on dignity at work and inclusive language. If the Bill is enacted, we will potentially see more Scottish employees obtaining GRCs (Gender Recognition Certificates) with greater ease so training should include guidance on the importance of referring to their colleagues by their acquired gender and omitting use of their previous name. Failure to respect the rights of trans colleagues could be a serious disciplinary matter.
“Employers should not request a copy of an employee’s GRC. Doing so could amount to discrimination under the Equality Act 2010 as it involves a difference in treatment because of the person’s trans status. In the workplace, it has always been the case that a trans person should be free to use the facilities appropriate to the gender in which they present and they should not be told to use disabled facilities.
“The Bill could also pose a problem for people undergoing right to work checks who have changed gender yet may not have updated their passports or identity documents to reflect the change. Employers must check for consistency and if the photos provided by an individual are not consistent, or the names do not match, this can be an issue. Ultimately, the employer must reasonably satisfy themselves of the reason for any discrepancy and retain evidence of how they satisfied themselves, such as a certificate of deed poll for a name change.
“Arguably there is a gap in the UK’s ‘right to work’ check process when it comes to trans employees which ought to be addressed as this does amount to a difference in treatment because of gender reassignment and therefore there are risks under the Equality Act 2010. These risks must be balanced therefore against the need to prevent illegal working, the penalties for which are high.
“In the recent case of For Women Scotland Ltd v Scottish Ministers (13 December 2022), the Court of Session has given an opinion that the definition of “woman” in the Equality Act 2010 must include trans women with a gender recognition certificate for the purposes of ensuring gender balance on public boards in Scotland. The court held that the meaning of sex in the Equality Act 2010 “is not limited to biological or birth sex, but includes those in possession of a GRC obtained in accordance with the 2004 Act stating their acquired gender, and thus their sex. Applying that logic, treating a trans man or woman differently because of their sex, for example in relation to the provision of services or employment opportunities, will amount to discrimination.”
Workers unwilling to wait until payday to access wages
Workers unwilling to wait until payday to access wages
With the cost of living crisis taking full effect, reports from Nationwide reveal that cash withdrawals increased by 19% in 2022 as people attempted to better manage their personal finances. In contrast, Government data suggests that ATM numbers have declined consistently year on year since 2015 meaning that this is an unsustainable approach to money management.
Expert in global pay solutions, CloudPay, warns that access to wages both instantly and digitally is required now more than ever and that a more forward-thinking approach to wage access is a clear need of the workforce.
Paul Bartlett, CEO at CloudPay comments: “It’s no secret that families and businesses across the UK are feeling the full effects of the rising costs of living as it continues to have a deep impact on people’s lives. In this environment, we are encouraged to see people looking at ways they can better control their finances. While the use of physical ATMs has clearly increased, there is a huge opportunity for businesses to support their workers during this time of uncertainty with flexible access to their earned wages via a ‘digital ATM’.
“Pre-Covid, flexibility in the workplace wasn’t as common and the traditional payroll structure of monthly pay wasn’t questioned. Today, the workforce is waking up to the realisation that they are owed money by their employer and are becoming less willing to wait to be paid as a result. This sentiment will only snowball in the coming months. And with hiring difficulties still being reported across a number of sectors, businesses will struggle to both attract and retain the talent they need due to inflexibility around payment options.
“There’s a growing feeling across the workforce that people should be able to access the salary they have already earned when they want and need it, rather than wait until a designated pay day – or resort to loans or credit cards. We have found that employees that have access to our Pay On-Demand solution, CloudPay NOW, typically make four small withdrawals throughout the pay cycle when unexpected costs arise. With people increasingly struggling to make ends meet, employees are questioning why they must wait to be paid for work they have already delivered.
“The current economy should act as a catalyst for employers to drive change and make a positive impact on access to funds, rather than stick with what’s familiar.”