Exposure to inappropriate behavior in the workplace has not decreased one iota in four years. Awareness of the phenomenon remains high, with 74% of employees considering harassment situations to be widespread, according to the second edition of the Ipsos BVA national barometer for Qualisocial in partnership with AvoSial (1). This proportion remains identical to that of 2022, during the first study, with 59% of those questioned even today judging that these situations are increasingly widespread.
On the other hand, the feeling of being well informed about the legislation increased significantly, going from 35% to 50%. But this better general knowledge is not enough to qualify the facts, since 77% still find it difficult to precisely recognize a harassment situation. A clear case of sexual harassment presented in the survey was only correctly identified by 54% of respondents.
According to this survey, exposure to harassment is higher in the public sector (81%), among part-time employees (47%), those on fixed-term contracts, temporary contracts or apprenticeships (44%), those under 25 (42%) and women (38%). Less than a third of employees are aware of the existence of a reporting system. Among the alleged victims, 4% turned to the harassment representative and 3% declared having received their support.
“Harassment at work is a subject that working people talk about more but they do not control it,” notes Camy Puech, the founding president of Qualisocial, the firm specializing in mental health and well-being at work. For the latter, two factors explain why this scourge is not receding. Firstly, the economic situation of public and private companies in France. Exacerbated international competition, the climate crisis and the development of artificial intelligence are all subjects that exert strong pressure on companies, which pass it on to their employees. “We see this during interviews with employees. On the professional side, they talk about the transformations that are shaking organizations and their difficulties in projecting themselves into what their work will be like tomorrow. On a personal level, they are concerned about their purchasing power, they do not have confidence in France's prospects and speak of economic insecurity,” explains Camy Puech.
The second factor is due to the French political situation. Seven months before the presidential election, the subject interferes in workplace relations with employees who no longer hesitate to assert their ideological preferences. “There is a polarization of the political debate in companies, with the formation of clans claiming to be right or left,” points out the president of Qualisocial. He also observes that the violence emanating from certain political parties, particularly from the extremes, has an impact on relations at work. “When political leaders think that violence is a solution to support their speech or affirm their action, this contributes to normalizing it. For certain individuals, it then appears legitimate to be against others, to attack them,” continues Camy Puech, who notes an increase in violent behavior in businesses.
When they are taken into care, employees who have made contemptuous and humiliating remarks towards colleagues do not always understand what they are accused of. They heard political leaders make similar words and did not understand that these were not admissible in the professional world. “In this matter, companies must show zero tolerance and apply sanctions. These are sine qua non conditions for maintaining team cohesion. Not only do conflicts heavily impact organizations, but inaction also increases them,” emphasizes Camy Puech.
Recently its teams hosted a conference with 2,000 employees of a large French bank whose level of knowledge relating to moral or sexist harassment behavior had been deemed insufficient, following an internal investigation. “There is a real challenge in tackling the subject upstream. Practicing prevention helps maintain a healthy state of mind in a self-respecting collective,” assures the president of Qualisocial.
