Do you as an organisational leader, or your line managers know if your staff are being bullied, harassed, sexually harassed or discriminated against? The statistics tell us that even though you may feel on top of this issue, its pretty likely that you are not correct. Statistics tell us that conservatively, between 7 and 15% of the Australian Workforce feels bullied and roughly 1 in 3 employees feel that they have been sexually discriminated against or harassed in the workplace. As examples of certain sectors: 17% of the Australian Public service staff feel bullied and harassed, 29% of paramedics report bullying and harassment in the workplace as do 25% of employees in the University sector. These are big organisations, so this represents a significant number of people. But if you assume that close to 25% of your staff are experiencing these issues, it would be a reasonably safe assumption.
Now when staff do experience bullying and harassment or sexual harassment and discrimination, do they feel that their organisations managers and leaders are well placed to handle these forms of workplace conflict? 43% of manager think that they handle conflict well but only 23% of non-managers agree. Less than half of people who manage people have any form of conflict management skills.
These pieces of information allow us to conclude that there is a high probability that significant numbers of your staff are being subject to bullying, harassment, sexual harassment and discrimination and that you and your team of managers are ill equipped to handle it.
So, what is the likely outcome of this reality? Your staff will suffer through depression, anxiety, health related issues like post-traumatic stress and suicidal thoughts. The outcome for your business is that they will immediately become less productivity (up to 50%), they will be tied up in associated workplace conflict rather than attending to tasks, there will be a resultant lack of confidence in management by the staff members team and then about 50% of staff involved in conflict will leave.
Until 30 June, I am prepared to offer the opportunity to get to understand the real status of your workforce in terms of their exposure to these types of workplace conflicts and what they think of your organisation’s ability to manage conflict effectively. This offer is completely free, assures your staff anonymity and includes recommendations and strategies for you to engage with to improve and build resilience against these issues for the future. If you are interested, contact me through my website www.professionalmediation.com.au or back through Linkedin.
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