Harassment and violence continues to be prevalent in Canadian workplaces, according to a new nationwide survey.
Nearly 4,900 people from all types of workplaces across the country participated in the study conducted by Western University, the University of Toronto, and the Canadian Labour Congress between October 2020 and April 2021. What researchers found was that 71.4 per cent of all respondents had experienced at least one form of abuse in the workplace in the two years prior to completing the survey.
The most common forms of harassment and violence were sexual conversations, sexual teasing and jokes, verbal intimidation, the spreading of rumors, and negative comments. The perpetrators of such actions were typically co-workers or third parties such as customers, patients or students. Workers most commonly targeted were women, people of colour, members of the LGBTQ community, and Indigenous peoples.
“After decades of research and advocacy and legislative changes, we are still at the point in Canada where many workers are still experiencing various forms of harassment and violence,” said Academic Research Associate Adriana Berlingieri.
Almost two in three respondents reported experiencing at least one behaviour or practice of harassment or violence at work in the past two years. Just over two in five experienced at least one behaviour or practice of workplace sexual harassment and violence in the past two years and just over one quarter of those surveyed reported at least one form of work-related online harassment in the past two years. Half of respondents said they had been physically intimidated.
Researchers determined the consequences of toxic work environments included severe physical and mental health issues, lost earnings, and destroyed careers, all of which could lead to great economic losses for employers.
“We now better understand what’s happening on the ground in reality for workers through interviews where we heard about their experiences of harassment and violence — what happens after they report, the kinds of retaliation they encounter, and the ineffectiveness of reporting,” said Berlingieri.
Researchers plan to use the data collected through the survey to help establish new practices and procedures to prevent and address all forms of workplace harassment and violence. They would like Canada to work with other countries to ratify the International Labour Organization Convention 190, which recognizes the right of everyone to work free from all forms of abuse.
“We have more momentum than we’ve ever had, and Canada is at the forefront of legislative change," said Berlingieri. “There’s a lot we need to figure out and we can’t take a siloed approach anymore. We have to be comprehensive and all actors — government, unions and workers all need to partner and do it together.”
The findings of the National Survey on Harassment and Violence at Work in Canada can be viewed in its entirety by clicking here.