Misconduct, bullying and harassment in the workplace have been problems for employees long before the pandemic took hold, but while remote work may have gotten people out of the physical office, it didn’t rid employees of these concerning issues.
And employees are going to extremes to avoid toxic interactions: over the last 12 months, U.S. office workers took over 43 million sick days in order to avoid workplace misconduct, according to new research from Vault Platform, a tech company that helps employees and their organizations to track, report and resolve misconduct in the workplace.
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On average, individual employees missed six days of work this year, according to Vault, and 14% of those employees who experienced workplace misconduct ended up leaving their jobs.
The impact is not just psychological, but financial, too. The average cost to hire a new employee is $4,000, which means employers spend $20.2 billion per year in re-hiring costs as a direct result of workplace misconduct, Vault found. It’s not just employees who suffer.
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“Behind every statistic is a person who has felt unsafe at work,” Neta Meidav, founder and CEO of Vault Platform, said in a release. “But what this research also shows is the damaging financial impact that workplace misconduct has on businesses and on the economy as a whole.”
Employers have taken strides to create workplaces where employees feel empowered to speak up, but that doesn’t mean all employees feel safe doing so. Trusting workplace leaders is still a significant issue for many employees, and when harassment, bullying and other misconduct is at play, it can make employees feel like they have no place to turn.
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“There still appears to be a ‘trust gap’ between both [employers and employees], with the workforce reluctant to speak up for fear of not being taken seriously,” Meidav said. “Fortunately, there are real technological advancements and solutions to workplace misconduct that are being put into practice.”
Eighty-two percent of U.S. employees say they expect employers to make it easier for them to report incidents of misconduct, according to Vault. Allowing employees to report misconduct anonymously is one way to provide peace of mind, with 80% of employees saying this would empower them to support a safe and positive work environment.
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While reporting is important, action is even more critical: 80% of employees expect their organizations to resolve misconduct incidents through effective and positive solutions, Vault found.
“There needs to be a cultural shift in the way with which workplace misconduct is dealt with, and implementing effective anonymous reporting solutions can be a first step in creating that change,” Meidav said. “Employees have spoken. Now is a pivotal moment to listen, understand and change — for a stronger workforce, a healthier economy and a better world.”
