Amid growing recognition of a connection to business performance, more employers plan to bolster their efforts to build a culture of “workplace dignity,” according to new research by Willis Towers Watson, a leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, in collaboration with Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. The research also revealed a great disparity between employees’ perspectives on how they are treated in the workplace and those of employers.
“Human rights don’t give way at the workplace door,” said Kerry Kennedy, president of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. “People spend countless hours at work, and ‘just and favorable conditions of work’ are elemental to the UnitedNations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
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A culture of workplace dignity promotes an environment in which employees can experience a sense of self-respect, pride, and self-worth, and it influences an organization’s ability to foster wellbeing, engage talent and drive business results. The Willis Towers Watson Workplace Dignity Survey examined barriers employers face in building a culture of dignity over the next three years. Virtually all employers (94%) recognize workplace dignity will be important to their future success, including their ability to attract and retain talent, promote employee wellbeing, engage employees and boost productivity. That’s a big increase from 70% over the past three years; however, three in 10employers (30%) have experienced difficulties in building and maintaining a culture of dignity. One in three employers (34%) cited a lack of diversity as a barrier to a culture of dignity while one in four (26%) cited abuse of power(e.g., not holding employees accountable for their actions) as a barrier.
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In response, the vast majority of employers (87%) plan to take steps to overcome barriers and build a culture of dignity over the next three years, up sharply from only 59% in the previous three years. Among the key barriers they plan to address are lack of diversity (89%), discrimination (88%), exclusion(86%), abuse of power (85%) and bullying (82%) within the workplace.
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