UK Workplace Harassment Statistics Reveal a Culture of Silence
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Bullying, harassment and workplace misconduct remain far more common than many organisations are willing to admit. While businesses continue to invest in wellbeing initiatives and employee engagement, new research into UK workplaces suggests there is still a significant gap between policy and reality.
Our latest research, featured in HR Magazine, surveyed more than 1,000 UK employees and uncovered a worrying culture of silence around workplace harm. Here is a taster of what the article explores:
“More than half (57%) of workers who experienced bullying or harassment chose not to report it.”
When employees stay silent, organisations lose visibility of what is really happening internally. Fear of repercussions, concerns around career progression, and a belief that nothing will change continue to prevent people from speaking up.
The findings also revealed a major disconnect between leadership teams and junior staff. While many organisations believe their reporting culture is effective, younger employees are far less convinced.
“Junior colleagues were twice as likely (54%) as senior leaders (27%) to say that speaking up about workplace issues is ‘pointless.’”
This disconnect has serious consequences. It impacts retention, trust, compliance, and an organisation’s ability to identify patterns of harmful behaviour before they escalate into larger cultural issues.
The article also explores the growing pressure on HR and People leaders to move beyond traditional open-door policies and create reporting systems that employees genuinely trust. Anonymous reporting routes, consistent case handling, and visible leadership behaviour are becoming essential components of workplace culture in 2026.
Read the full article in HR Magazine for deeper insights into the research, additional commentary from Michelle Hartley of People Sorted, and what these findings mean for organisations navigating employee relations today.
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When you can no longer buy silence, you have to invest in safety. That's the shift HR teams now need to plan for. Some organisations have historically leaned on settlement agreements and non-disclosure agreements to resolve harassment complaints quietly, keeping the details contained and the reputational risk low. The Employment Rights Act 2025 closes that option down. Once the NDA ban comes into force, a culture of silence stops being something the law will let you enforce.
Feeling inspired?
Take the first step toward preventative misconduct management with a demo of our Report + Support™ platform. We can show you how to breakdown reporting barriers with anonymous 2-way messaging, and how to act before things escalate with name-matching and pattern-spotting across our analytics dashboard.
