New survey • Many afraid to express their opinion • The psychologist: This is how we suffer psychologically
One in seven employees does not dare to express their opinion at work, a new survey shows. One industry stands out, and the most difficult situation is for women.
– You feel like you are replaceable, says Sofie Johansson at Brilliant future, who carried out the survey.
It is far from everyone who dares to express their opinion in the workplace. This is shown by new data from the research and analysis company Brilliant future, which has mapped the existence of a culture of silence in the country’s workplaces. Every seventh employee is afraid to make their voice heard at work.
– This is very serious. A culture of silence means that misconduct such as financial irregularities or sexual harassment risk not coming to the surface. That the situation is worse for women is perhaps not unexpected, but still alarming. We also do not see any improvement in recent years, so the subject needs to be highlighted more, says Sofie Johansson, expert in employee surveys at Brilliant future.
The survey is based on 300,000 responses from employee surveys over the past year. About one in six women feel that it is not possible to express their opinion, compared to about one in eight men.
That industry is the worst
One in eight employees in service companies feel that they cannot express their opinions, compared to approximately one in seven in construction and manufacturing. It is worst in the service industry, where it is about every sixth employee, according to the survey.
– It is often a little more insecure forms of employment, a little shorter employment and you may not always dare to express your opinions. You feel more replaceable in the service industry, says Sofie Johansson.
The psychologist: This is how we are affected by fear
Experiencing that you do not dare to express your opinions, or that you are not listened to, can affect the psychological well-being greatly. So says researcher Emma Cedstrand, researcher at the Karolinska Institute and psychologist at the Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine in the Stockholm Region.
– For the individual himself, if you systematically feel that you are not listened to or are not taken seriously, for example, this can lead to you withdrawing. This, in turn, can lead to feelings of shame and depression as an individual, says the researcher.
Emma Cedstrand believes that employers have a lot to gain from having an open discussion climate, where employees feel good and are listened to.
– It’s about people being able to express divergent opinions but also make mistakes at work. There, it has been seen that groups with high psychological security are more creative and more high-performing. So there is money to be made. It has also been seen that if you have high psychological security, people are more likely to report deviations, mistakes and errors in a business. It can be absolutely decisive in preventing, for example, accidents in the construction industry or increasing patient safety in healthcare.