Dive Brief:

• Thirty-eight percent of surveyed college faculty members said they felt respected at work, according to Feb. 10 poll results from Gallup and Inside Higher Ed.
• The survey of 1,900 tenured, tenure track and nontenured professors also determined that full-time and tenured faculty are somewhat less likely to feel respected. Respect is directly tied to discrimination and harassment, according to the findings. A previous Gallup poll found that 90% of people who said they're not treated with respect at work reported experiencing at least one discrimination or harassment episode.
• In other survey results, 16% said their institution is dedicated to building faculty's strengths, and a quarter said they trust their institution to do the right thing when confronted with an ethical dilemma.

Dive Insight:

College faculty aren't the only ones feeling disrespected at work. The majority of employers (81%) polled in a recent Willis Towers Watson study said they believe workers are respected but fewer workers (64%) reported feeling the same way. Relatedly, many employers (87%) in the study said they planned to create a culture of workplace dignity in their respective organizations within the next three years.

Bullying, perhaps one of the more aggressive forms of disrespect, is widespread in workplaces; as much as 90% of workers polled in an October 2019 Monster survey reported being bullied at work. The behavior was instigated by a variety of people, with 51% saying they'd been bulled by a manager and 40% reporting bullying from a peer.  

With bullying so pervasive in the workplace, HR may want to take action. HR pros need to understand a lack of consequences reinforces bullying behavior, sources previously told HR Dive. Mandatory training may help employees, managers and leaders understand what bullying is and how to prevent it or stop it.