Human rights lawyer offers advice on how to foster a speak up culture at work
It has been two years since the positive duty in Australia was introduced, but challenges remain for organisations in trying to meet this newfound responsibility.
The positive duty, introduced in December 2022, mandates organisations to take "reasonable and proportionate measures" to eliminate harmful workplace behaviour, such as discrimination based on sex and sexual harassment, among others.
But creating a "speak up" culture at work is one of the biggest challenges faced by employers in meeting the positive duty requirements, according to Prabha Nandagopal, a human rights lawyer and founder of SafeSpace@Elevate.
"The reality is that most people won't speak out after experiencing or witnessing harmful workplace behaviours, including sexual harassment," she told HRD in an interview.
According to Nandagopal, only two to 10% of people in workplaces where she worked on culture reviews actually reported behaviours like harassment, bullying, or discrimination.
Data from the Australian Human Rights Commission on workplace sexual harassment also revealed that only a third of people who witnessed or heard about sexual harassment of another colleague took action to prevent or reduce harm.
"Those reporting figures are really low. It's a real challenge for organisations because how can they address what they're not aware of?" Nandagopal said.
But the bigger question should be why people aren't speaking up, according to the human rights lawyer.
"Often it's because they don't think the issue is serious enough, or they're worried about backlash or reprisals, or commonly, they don't have trust and confidence in the internal reporting mechanisms," Nandagopal said.
This was the case in the independent workplace review on Nine Entertainment released last year, where respondents didn't believe in the "People and Culture" department, describing it as a "huge failure" that sides with the company.
"That's why building a really strong speak up culture is so important, because when employees feel empowered to speak up, it makes it easier for the business to resolve problems early on and mitigate risks before they escalate," she said.
In order to establish a strong speak up culture in the workplace, Nandagopal said it is important that organisations provide multiple reporting pathways, including an anonymous one.
"Through that reporting tool, you are going to be able to pick up early issues that are arising in your workplace and prevent them from escalating into problematic issues that can cost you either reputationally, financially, or legally," she said.
Having such tools will also help build trust and openness among employees, and foster a safe, respectful, and inclusive workplace where the workforce is empowered to speak up.
Nandagopal acknowledged that there will be limitations to anonymous reporting channels at work, but there are still steps employers can take.
"For example, if there is a team that you're seeing where there's a number of anonymous reports being made, then you can go in and conduct some education and training or do a pulse survey in that team to find out what was going on," she said.
"So, the employer is limited in what they can do, but that doesn't mean it isn't beneficial to receive anonymous reports because you can identify hotspots and trends within your organisation."
To establish trust in an organisation's reporting mechanism, Nandagopal stressed that communication and transparency will be crucial.
"You want to be really transparent with your workers that 'Yes, we are receiving… sexual harassment or bullying complaints. But we are taking these reports seriously and here's what the outcomes look like,'" she advised.
She noted that leaders may feel hesitant about being transparent in these cases amid concerns on privacy.
"But there's absolutely a way that you can balance both and that is by providing some identified data. It's really critical to be open with your organisation rather than sweeping it under the rug."
Ultimately, fostering a safe workplace culture needs to begin with leaders, according to Nandagopal.
"You set the tone from the top," she said. "It really starts with the leadership communicating regularly the importance of respect at work and role modelling themselves."
"Positive workplace culture doesn't happen organically. You really need that consistent action and investment into initiatives."
