Men are more likely to speak up over ethical concerns in the workplace, a survey has found.
According to the Irish results of the research by the Ethics at Work: 2024 International Survey of Employees released by the Institute of Business Ethics with the Compliance Institute, some 76 per cent of men said they would speak up if there was legal or ethical misconduct at work, this compares to 53 per cent of women.
Chief executive of the Compliance Institute Michael Kavanagh said the gender split between people speaking about ethical problems in the workplace was “the most concerning aspect” of data released on Tuesday.
“It is worrying that women are much more reticent than men about speaking up in the workplace – and that women are more inclined to think they could lose their job or be dismissed as troublemakers for doing so,” said Mr Kavanagh.
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The study comprises of 12,000 employees in 16 different countries. Some 750 of those surveyed were in Ireland. The survey looked at answers from an age group perspective and a gender perspective.
Some 44 per cent of women in Ireland believed they would be putting their job at risk if they spoke up about any misconduct they observed in the workplace. In contrast, only three in 10 men felt the same way.
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Mr Kavanagh said the different experiences of men and women in the workplace – and between younger and older colleagues – should be studied more closely.
Some 43 per cent of Irish employees said they were aware of bullying within the workplace. This was followed by 39 per cent of Irish employees reported abuse of authority in the workplace and 29 per cent of people said they noticed a misreporting of hours worked by staff.
The results say there has been an overall increase in the number of employees in Ireland who have noticed misconduct in the workplace compared to the last time this survey was conducted in 2021 – rising from 16 per cent in 2021 to 22 per cent in 2024. Notably, this figure is below the global average for 2024, standing at 25 per cent.
The study says four in 10 Irish workers – 42 per cent – who have spoken up about bad practices in the workplace have experienced consequences at work because of it.
However, the report found it’s a fall on the same figure in 2021 when 52 per cent of Irish respondents said they experienced retribution for highlighting bad practices.
The survey found 47 per cent of women in Ireland did not want to flag misconduct in their workplace as they did not want to be labelled as troublemakers, while only 35 per cent of men felt the same.
The survey said 75 per cent of over-55s said they didn’t feel there was any point in raising issues around misconduct. This compared to 28 per cent of 18-34 year olds and 42 per cent of 25-54 year olds.
Almost one in three – 32 per cent – of the youngest age group asked did not know who to talk to if they had concerns around misconduct in the workplace, the survey found.
Looking forward, Mr Kavanagh said Irish organisations should reflect on their processes and procedures “and it possibly needs a more detailed examination from a wider society point of view as to why this might be the case”.
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