Workplace Welfare

by Alicia Buckley, Consultant MadlinHanna Consulting

Businesses have always had a responsibility to look after their employees in the workplace setting. With remote working, there should be considerations around online behaviour as more time spent online makes it harder to safeguard. As we start to see more regular returns to the office, expectations of behaviour have shifted massively - long gone are the days of alcohol-fuelled 3am office parties. What considerations need to be made to ensure safety and enjoyment from the working environment?

Inclusivity

Work-life balance is now very high on the priority list for employees and candidates, there needs to be a line between work social activities and people’s own personal time that is factored into a social programme.

Drinking culture is not inclusive and whilst we aren’t suggesting everyone goes dry, there needs to be consideration of workplace social activities that don’t involve alcohol.

Understanding of people’s different backgrounds – be that disability, sexuality, socio-economic, religious – the workplace must be a welcoming environment for everyone. To incentivise people going into the office, diversity must be celebrated.

Harassment and Bullying

Historically, where a microaggression, drunken grope or demeaning remark might have been glossed over, the expectation of what is acceptable conduct in the workplace has since altered, and these behaviours are completely and entirely unacceptable.

Employers have a duty of care to their teams to ensure that above all, they feel safe in their workplace. Allegations of harassment and bullying, amongst others, must be handled with the utmost seriousness. Zero tolerance for these incidents is the expectation.

An environment of psychological safety must be created by management for any issues to be reported and dealt with.

Reporting, Safeguarding and Actions

There must be clear mechanisms for reporting, that everyone is aware of and are included as part of any new team member joining. There must also be regular opportunities for individuals to raise concerns in safe spaces.

It’s critical that there is confidence and trust that reports will be acted on appropriately and in confidence, wherever possible. Any imbalance of power must be dealt with carefully to ensure safety of junior staff.

Ultimately, as we’ve seen recently with the long-standing allegations against Crispin Odey in the financial world, businesses do not sit up and take notice until it affects their bottom line. This needs to change. For a zero-tolerance policy to mean something, investigations must be thorough, and their outcomes and any punishments related to the severity of the action, not to protect the reputation of the business or limit any potential financial impact.

Fundamentally, people won’t go into the office unless they want to. Without them being safe, secure and protected spaces, people will feel they have no choice but to leave or work remotely.

MadlinHanna Consulting is a recruitment consultancy specialising in public affairs, corporate communications and financial PR. Contact us on 020 8088 4102 for more information or a confidential conversation about these services and more.