Hot 100 2009 11
HOT1002009HOT
WALES
I
n 2007 the government under the
guise of the then DTI undertook a
national study on Fairness at Work.
The study was groundbreaking as it
was the first large scale official survey of
perceived unfair treatment, discrimination,
bullying and sexual harassment in British
workplaces.
Why was this survey so important? Unlike
other surveys that had reported on issues
like bullying and sexual harassment, this
survey provided a national picture of issues
that were being reported as on the
increase or indeed as being commonplace
in British organizations.
Why is this important
to SMEs?
Most research on bullying and harassment
that has been undertaken in Britain has
been done on a relatively small scale with
researchers getting access to
organizations as and when they could.
More often, this was achieved by
accessing employees who were members
of a trade union or via sympathetic HR
managers who were keen to find out the
nature and extent of any problem that may
exist. As such, SMEs have often not
formed part of the evidence base because
of problems of research access and
reduced trade union recognition.
We know that trade unions are poorly
represented amongst SMEs and evidence
from Acas shows that handling conflict is a
difficult area for SMEs, particularly with the
expansion of individual employment rights
(see Acas report entitled Small firms and
workplace disputes resolution � free from
the Acas website).
So why should SMEs
be interested?
The evidence from the DTI's Fair Treatment
at Work Survey in 2007 showed that
2.1million British employees perceived they
had experienced some form of unfairness,
bullying, sexual harassment or
discrimination at work. In some sectors
around one-fifth of employees either
experienced or witnessed such behaviours.
Sectors worst affected were financial
intermediation, transport, storage and
communication industries. This evidence
points to something that is not confined to
a particular industry or to a location as all
parts of Britain were affected � although
Wales came out badly where unfair
treatment of other employees was reported
by Welsh employees (18% of those who
worked with others compared with 14.9%
in Scotland and 13.7% in England).
Respondents to the DTI survey showed
that women were more likely than men to
seek advice or help as were trade union
members over non-trade union members.
Similarly, men were more inclined to do
nothing about their problem while women
were more likely to leave the organization.
In terms of bullying, twice as much
bullying was reported in firms employing
50 or more employees compared with
small firms although this may be due to the
sector the firm is located in.
What should SMEs
do?
Finding out whether a problem exists is the
first port of call. Assuming that unfairness
or bullying does not exist because you
employ less than 50 people or because as
an owner manager or general manager
you do not hear about it is simply silly.
There is a clear body of evidence to show
that many employees, particularly men and
those from ethnic minorities will often suffer
in silence. Managers can also endure such
behaviours as evidenced by the Chartered
Management Institute's 2008 report on
bullying. Doing nothing as an employer is
simply not an option.
Discussing behaviours at work is often
very productive provided it is done in a
non-confrontational way and is handled
with sensitivity. Using an outside party to
broker a focus group drawn from a cross-
section of the organization is a good
starting point.
If a conflict or issue emerges, dealing with
it in an informal way is the best course of
action where possible. Evidence from the
Acas report above, shows that all too often
SMEs deploy formal approaches early in a
dispute as a means of protecting
themselves against potential litigation and
to show consistency of treatment. This is
despite the evidence in the Acas report
that shows small businesses benefit most
by taking an informal approach.
At the Centre for Research on Workplace
Behaviours we would also advocate an
informal route to conflict resolution when
possible. Our research experience shows
us that in most cases employees simply
want a harmonious working environment,
free from unpleasant behaviours that
demean or undermine. This is best
achieved by not pretending a problem
doesn't exist but, more by dialogue and
discussion about how to overcome it.
First line supervisors and managers are
critical to resolving disputes early before they
can build a head of steam. These people
need soft-skills to manage difficult, complex
and emotional problems. Skills of conflict
resolution should be high on their agenda.
We can help SMEs
The Centre for Research on Workplace
Behaviours at Glamorgan Business School
is here to help. If you are an owner,
manager or employee and want to find
resolutions to workplace problems we can
help. If you are an SME and want practical
advice please do give us a call and let us
discuss how best to move forward.
Evidence from Acas shows a third party
can often help resolve disputes because of
their independence. Our close-knit team
helps clients to understand, evaluate and
address issues relating to workplace
behaviours. Such issues can be complex
and, without experience, are often
considered difficult to uncover and handle
with so many other demands on
management time. Combining audits,
training and consultancy, we can help
SMEs highlight concerns, educate
personnel and implement new policies to
prevent issues arising.
As Acas CEO John Taylor said at the
launch of the Centre for Research on
Workplace Behaviours at the House of
Lords in September 2008
"The full time, permanent and pensionable
worker is no longer the norm, increasingly
the workplace is more diverse. Contract,
temporary, agency, part time, flexible and
home workers now work alongside each
other. Furthermore, the make-up of the
workforce has changed, the working
population is ageing, there is a male/female
divide as well as migrant and ethnic
diversity"
"Different managerial styles and
responses are required when meeting the
needs of a very diverse workforce, the old
approach of command and control is only
part of answer. Information and
communication technology, has "liberated"
employees who have much more
discretion in how they deploy their energies
for their employers. Line managers,
supervisors and shop stewards now need
to understand and deploy a range of skills
when managing staff. This is not an easy
task".
FAIRNESS AT WORK:
Why issues of bullying and
harassment are important to SMEs
Professor
Duncan Lewis
Acas Professor of Workplace Futures
Co-director of the Centre for Research
of Workplace Behaviours
Such is Glamorgan Business School's commitment to addressing workplace
conflict that we are launching a new MSc in Managing Workplace Conflict in
conjunction with Acas later this year. If you are interested in finding out more, please
contact Michael Murdoch at Glamorgan Business School for further information.
The Centre for Research on Workplace Behaviours is also hosting the 7th
International Conference on Workplace Bullying and Harassment in Cardiff in June
2010. See www.bullying2010.com for further information.
Professor Duncan Lewis

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