Vault Platform: US Workers Take Over 43 Million Sick Days Due to Workplace Misconduct

• Study Reveals Sexual Harassment, Bullying, Discrimination and Other Forms of Workplace Misconduct Costs the Us Economy $8.54 Billion a Year

Office workers in the US took more than 43 million sick days due to workplace misconduct in the last 12 months, causing an $8.54 billion hit to the US economy, according to a landmark study commissioned by Vault Platform, pioneers in ethics and compliance technology.

Workers who had to take time off in 2021 due to workplace misconduct missed, on average, six days of work, resulting in 43 million sick days. With businesses increasingly fearful of the Great Resignation, the research showed that 14% of staff who experienced workplace misconduct in the last 12 months ended up leaving their role. At an average cost of $4,000 to hire a new worker, this equates to $20.2 billion in re-hiring costs alone for US businesses as a direct result of workplace misconduct.

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Vault’s first ever ‘Trust Gap’ report polled 2,000 office staff across the US and UK to understand transatlantic experiences of misconduct in the workplace, before putting the results to 500 HR and compliance decision makers to highlight the gap between employees and their employers. Conducted by pollster Norstat, the research reveals for the first time the true cost of workplace misconduct to the economy.

Regulators across the globe have ramped up their efforts to combat the problems highlighted in Vault’s report. The SEC has recently issued record-breaking fines, while this week, the EU’s Whistleblower Directive is about to come into force, giving new focus to all enterprises doing business in Europe.

“Behind every statistic is a person who has felt unsafe at work,” Neta Meidav, founder and CEO of Vault Platform, commented. “But what this research also shows is the damaging financial impact that workplace misconduct has on businesses and on the economy as a whole.”

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The study found 75% of US office workers have either witnessed or personally experienced misconduct at some point in their careers, estimating that just over one in five (22%) resulted in legal proceedings, almost a quarter (24%) in financial settlements and 31% in reputational damage to the company. 84% of workers in the US who have personally experienced or witnessed some form of misconduct, have done so more than once, highlighting a systemic, recurring issue.

Meidav added: “There is a clear disconnect between the daily experience of workers and the views of their employers. As the EU launches its ground-breaking Whistleblower Directive this week, the size, scale and systemic nature of workplace misconduct has been truly laid bare for the first time.”

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