One out of four do not dare report unacceptable work conditions

jobJob.Photo: Pixabay

Fear of losing a job is the main reason that a quarter of those who discover unacceptable conditions at their workplace, choose not to speak up.

Many of those who complain, are reprimanded, stalked and pressured into quitting. Those are among the findings of the annual survey ‘ Norwegian Management Barometer’.

–  In some companies there is an almost automatic termination process against employees who are ‘ whistle blowers’, claims union leader Audun Ingvartsen of  the Management Association .

The  ‘Arbeidsforsknings instituttet’ conducted the survey on behalf of the organization leaders.

Nearly 3,300 executives and middle managers participated in the survey, and more than half of them had experienced unacceptable conditions within their businesses. One in four said that they omitted warning of such conditions.

Among those who chose to make a complaint,  45 percent said they were subsequently subjected to backbiting, whilst 26 percent were rebuked by their superiors. 17 percent say that they had their careers damaged or destroyed, whilst 9 percent were pushed out of their position.

Lawyer Birthe Eriksen, who has a doctorate from the University of Bergen in workers’ Right to Report, believes that the survey confirms other similar studies in recent years.

– It is also my experience that it has become a tougher climate for whistleblowers in recent years, says Eriksen.

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today

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