Just under half of UK’s businesses have experienced inappropriate behavior from their employees in the workplace.
This is according to CV-Library, a UK job board which found that 45 per cent of organisations have dealt with unsuitable conduct from their staff.
More than a third (35 per cent) of bosses have had to give a verbal warning to an employee and 9 per cent have had to suspend someone.
Below are the most inappropriate acts employers believe their staff can do:
- Being physically aggressive and/or confrontational – 81 per cent
- Turning up to work drunk – 74 per cent
- Using illegal substances – 67 per cent
- Sending inappropriate emails – 21 per cent
- Getting angry with colleagues – 21 per cent
- Flirting with clients/customers – 8 per cent
- Turning up hungover – 5 per cent
- Complaining about workload – 4 per cent
- Flirting with colleagues – 4 per cent
- Taking personal calls – 3 per cent
The legal (62 per cent), education (56 per cent), and hospitality (53 per cent) industries are most likely to fire someone for these forms of inappropriate behavior.
Lee Biggins, founder and CEO of CV-Library said:
Inappropriate behaviour from your employees should not be tolerated in the workplace. You want to maintain a professional and mature atmosphere in your company, and this simply cannot be achieved if your staff are acting inappropriately.
Unfortunately, our findings reveal a shockingly high number of workers have been inappropriate in the workplace, possibly due to poor employee education. Saying that, there are some actions, such as turning up intoxicated or under the influence of illegal substances, which are simply inexcusable.
Educate your employees on what is deemed as inappropriate at work to avoid any grey areas. Their induction is the perfect time for this. After all, in a time of low unemployment and skills shortages, your company can’t afford to lose its professional reputation.
CV-Library surveyed over 300 UK employers in order to gather these results.
Darius is the editor of HRreview. He has previously worked as a finance reporter for the Daily Express. He studied his journalism masters at Press Association Training and graduated from the University of York with a degree in History.
