ILO Publishes its First Report on Harassment in the Workplace

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ILO and the Future of Work

The UN Agency Launches First Report on Harassment and Violence in the Workplace

The International Labour Organisation, the UN agency that brings to the negotiating table the private sector (employers), governments, trade bodies and unions, and NGOs that represent employees, has published its first report on violence, sexual exploitation, harassment and bullying in the workplace.

The People’s Experiences of Violence and Harassment at Work: A first global account, is the first ever report issued on the topic of violence and psychological harassment in the workplace by the ILO. It was produced in partnership with Lloyd’s Register Foundation and Gallup, the global polling and insights consulting firm.

The report reveals the extent of violence and harassment in the workplace worldwide, and one of the highlights is the prevalence of bullying, mobbing, and other forms of psychological violence and harassment.

Also of note the is the fact that very few people less that 54% report that they have been victims of harassment and sexual violence in the workplace, the reason respondents to the survey gave was fear of retaliation, loss of employment, and damage to their reputation.

That all should change pretty soon, as we increasingly see that in a digital world it is so easy to share information, and as the old saying goes, “you can fool some of the people some of the time but you cannot fool everyone all the time”. Bad managers, with outdated styles of management are at risk.

The UN Brief interviewed two of the authors of the ILO report, the economists Valentina Beghini (lead author) and Emanuela Pozzan, to speak about the main takeaways of the report.