More than half of UK employees report inconsistencies between their employer’s wellbeing policies and everyday workplace behaviour, according to research examining whether organisations live up to their stated commitments.
Some 53 percent identified either a strong contrast or some inconsistency between wellbeing policies and their experiences at work. A further finding showed that 44 percent reported discrepancies involving diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies.
Nearly one in five employees, 19 percent, also felt that their organisation’s culture did not reflect the values it promoted. The research suggests that employees judge the credibility of workplace commitments through the actions of managers and senior leaders, rather than policy statements alone.
Wellbeing shows largest gap between policy and practice
The figures come from a study of 1,178 UK employees by Nottingham Business School, part of Nottingham Trent University. Participants worked in medium-sized and large organisations across sectors including healthcare, education, finance and public services.
The researchers examined employees’ perceptions of whether workplace policies were reflected in everyday organisational behaviour, focusing on wellbeing, inclusion, leadership and employment decisions. The largest reported discrepancy concerned wellbeing, with more than half of respondents identifying a difference between their employer’s formal commitments and their experience of working there.
Zara Whysall, professor of business psychology at Nottingham Business School, said the differences did not necessarily indicate that employers were intentionally misleading their workforce.
“These findings don’t mean that organisations are deliberately misleading people. Instead, employees often perceive a disconnect between policies and reality – such as receiving wellbeing messages while struggling with an excessive workload or their employer publicly celebrating diversity and inclusion while promotion opportunities are perceived as unequal.”
She said changing organisational culture was more difficult than introducing or amending written policies.
“This is because a policy is much easier to change than organisational culture which requires consistent action from managers and leaders over time.”
The researchers use the term “HR whitewashing” to describe situations where formal workplace commitments are not reflected in employees’ experiences. Their analysis focuses on perceived inconsistencies rather than establishing deliberate deception by employers.
Managers’ actions influence trust in workplace commitments
Leadership behaviour emerged as an important factor in how employees assessed organisational values.
Workers were more likely to regard wellbeing and inclusion commitments as credible when managers’ conduct, recruitment decisions and promotion practices reflected those commitments.
The research therefore draws attention to how organisational policies operate in practice, including decisions about workloads, employee treatment and career opportunities.
Nadia K. Kougiannou, professor of work and employment relations at Nottingham Business School, said employers needed to assess managers on how effectively they implemented workplace commitments.
“A wellbeing or DEI policy has limited credibility if employees encounter workplace practices that contradict it. Managers and senior leaders should be assessed on how they put these commitments into practice, including how they manage workloads, address exclusionary behaviour and make recruitment and promotion decisions.”
The findings suggest that employees consider everyday management decisions when evaluating whether an organisation’s stated priorities are reflected in its culture.
Wellbeing initiatives, for instance, may be regarded as less credible where employees continue to experience excessive workloads, while commitments to inclusion may be questioned if recruitment or promotion practices appear inconsistent with them.
Recruitment and promotion decisions face scrutiny
The reported discrepancies involving DEI policies indicate that employees do not necessarily regard formal commitments as evidence of fair treatment or equal opportunities. Instead, the researchers identified recruitment and promotion decisions as important aspects of how employees assess whether organisational values are being upheld.
This creates a distinction between the existence of a workplace policy and the extent to which employees believe it influences decisions affecting their careers. The study does not establish that particular management practices caused the perceptions reported by participants. Nor does it show that all organisations with perceived inconsistencies were failing to implement their policies.
Rather, it examines how employees interpret the relationship between formal commitments and the behaviour they encounter at work.
The research raises questions for employers about whether existing measures of policy compliance adequately capture employees’ experiences, particularly where implementation varies between managers or departments. It suggests that reviewing how workloads are allocated, how concerns about exclusion are handled and how recruitment and promotion decisions are made may provide a clearer picture of whether organisational commitments are reflected in practice.
The study, HR whitewashing: employee perceptions of policy-practice alignment in UK organisations, was published in Employee Relations: The International Journal.
William Furney is a Managing Editor at Black and White Trading Ltd based in Kingston upon Hull, UK. His writing focuses on contemporary employment issues including pension schemes, employee health, financial struggles affecting workers and broader workplace trends.
- William Furney
- William Furney
- William Furney
- William Furney
