American employees are taking a stand against sexual harassment and unethical behavior in the workplace.
A recent survey completed by The Manifest revealed nearly 80% of employees will not tolerate a lack of action. Ultimately, companies that fail to address sexual harassment will suffer increased turnover, diminished profits and damage to their reputation.
The Manifest surveyed 540 full-time employees ages 18 or older at companies ranging from small businesses to large enterprises.
Most workers will not accept a job with higher pay from an employer that fails to act against sexual harassment.
Other unethical behaviors workers will not tolerate include employers that sell user data without users' knowledge (79%) or create environmental problems (72%).
Employees Motivated to Speak Up
The Manifest's survey found that just over 40% of employees (43%) claim they are likely to protest privately to a manager or supervisor if they learn that their company failed to act against sexual harassment.
Employees claim they're most likely to quit (20%), leak the information to the news media (15%) or do nothing (7%), despite being at risk for social isolation, retaliation, anxiety and depression.
Despite the risk of negative backlash, most employees feel a need to act against unethical behavior that directly impacts coworkers or them, according to survey results.
Overall, employees are more likely to tolerate disagreeable company behaviors that are driven by politics or economics instead of ones that directly impact coworkers or them.