A new survey pointed to a wide gap between how protected employees say they feel at work and how organizations respond to misconduct, highlighting fear, silence and uneven accountability across many workplaces.
While 71 per cent of respondents said they feel protected on the job, TalentLMS noted that their experiences suggest otherwise. More than a third witnessed incivility or disrespect and another third experienced it themselves. Nearly three in ten witnessed professional or social exclusion and almost one quarter experienced it. Another quarter witnessed retaliation for speaking up and more than one-fifth experienced it.
The findings carry business risk. More than three in four employees, (77 per cent), said they would consider leaving their job if they did not feel protected, directly linking a sense of safety to retention.
Unequal consequences appear to drive mistrust. Nearly two in three respondents (62 per cent), agreed that misconduct is more likely to be overlooked when a top performer or leader is involved. Almost half (45 per cent) said they have seen people promoted after mistreating others. Nearly the same number (47 per cent) said managers discourage escalating harassment or discrimination complaints. Two in five (42 per cent) worry that speaking up will label them as difficult.
Despite the prevalence of misconduct, many incidents go unreported. One quarter of employees said they did not report what they witnessed or experienced. The most common reasons were a belief that reporting would not make a difference, cited by 56 per cent, and fear of retaliation, cited by 36 per cent.
Training remains a lever for change, although gaps limit its impact. Three in five (60 per cent) said compliance training has improved behaviour at their workplace. At the same time, 45 per cent said training content is disconnected from real situations, and 36 per cent said better, more practical and realistic training would reduce misconduct.
Access is uneven. One in five employees said they received no compliance training in the past year, and only 33 per cent received diversity, equity and inclusion training. Nearly one third (31 per cent), said they feel less protected as their company has pulled back from DEI initiatives.
“Training influences how employees respond to situations they face at work,” said Theoni Velkou, Compliance Manager and Data Protection Officer at Epignosis, the parent company of TalentLMS. “When compliance training reflects real workplace scenarios, it helps people recognize misconduct, understand what steps they can take, and feel more comfortable speaking up. That kind of practical training builds stronger trust across the organization.”
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