New Poll: Majority of Americans Support Federal Legislation to Combat Toxic Workplace Behavior
For Immediate Release: July 11, 2023
Contact: JON CARVALHO
PRESS RELEASE
Majority of U.S. adults support legislation to end silencing mechanisms for workplace abuse and discrimination.
Washington, D.C. – A new Morning Consult survey released by Lift Our Voices, a nonprofit organization dedicated to eradicating the mechanisms that silence survivors of workplace abuse, found that a majority (54%) of adults across the political spectrum support more action from Congress to protect workers from workplace discrimination and harassment, including nearly two-thirds (64%) of those who identified as survivors of workplace discrimination or sexual harassment.
More than two-thirds of all Americans agree that survivors of discrimination based on race/ethnicity, age, religion, gender, or sexual orientation should all be allowed to sue in open court for their claims, instead of being forced into arbitration.
The survey underscores that most Americans support federal policies to end the use of forced arbitration and nondisclosure agreements for toxic workplace issues, such as abuse and discrimination. Last year, Lift Our Voices spearheaded two pieces of bipartisan federal legislation enacted into law aimed at protecting survivors of sexual misconduct in the workplace:
The Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act, which eradicates forced arbitration for survivors of sexual misconduct, is supported by a majority (57%) of all adults, including a majority of both Democrats (73%) and Republicans (51%).
The Speak Out Act, which ends the use of pre-dispute nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) for survivors and witnesses of sexual misconduct, is supported by 62% of all adults, including a majority (81%) of Democrats and Republicans (54%).
Incidents of sexual misconduct and discrimination are underreported in the workplace, particularly among women, and have a negative impact on survivors’ mental health:
Nearly 3 in 10 women report having personally experienced sexual harassment, abuse, or assault in the workplace, along with 19% of men. But a majority of female survivors (54%) choose not to report their experiences. Among the reasons for not reporting the misconduct, the most prevalent responses are that survivors believe nothing helpful would be done (50%) or because they fear retaliation (42%).
Male survivors of sexual harassment are more likely to report or talk about misconduct, with 63% saying they reported it.
Sexual harassment has a large impact on survivors’ mental health: 75% of female survivors and 78% of male survivors report that it affects their mental health, including 37% of men and 36% of women saying that it affects their mental health greatly.
Nearly 3 in 10 Americans say they have faced discrimination or unfair treatment at work because of their gender, race, ethnicity, age, religion, sexual orientation, or disability status, with nearly equal numbers among men (28%) and women (29%).
A majority of Americans say they are familiar with nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) and would like to eradicate their use for toxic workplace issues: Of the U.S. adults who have signed an NDA with their current employer, an overwhelming majority (64%) would like the ability to opt out of theirs and more than half (54%) say they would like their employer to end the practice of using NDAs altogether.
“This data shows that there is broad support to continue to eradicate silencing mechanisms that bind survivors of harassment and discrimination,” said Gretchen Carlson, co-founder of Lift Our Voices. “Our work goes on to ensure that every single worker will have the right to speak freely about workplace toxicity.”
"Americans across the political, geographic, and gender divide are demanding that Congress do more to protect survivors of workplace harassment and discrimination," said Julie Roginsky, co-founder of Lift Our Voices. “There is a strong sense that the existing practice of preventing workers from publicly disclosing workplace incidents must not be sustained.”
This poll was conducted between May 30 - June 1, 2023 by Morning Consult on behalf of Lift Our Voices among samples of 1,501 women and 503 men (18+, United States). The interviews were conducted online, and the data were weighted to approximate target samples of U.S. men and women based on age, educational attainment, race, marital status, home ownership, race by educational attainment, 2020 presidential vote, and region. Results for the overall U.S. population represent a weighted subsample of 1,011 adults (n=498 male, n=512 female) and have a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Click here for full methodology and crosstabs by key demographic groups.
For more information on Lift Our Voices, visit liftourvoices.org and their Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram pages.
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ABOUT LOV
Lift Our Voices (LOV) was launched in December 2019 to create positive, systemic change in American workplaces through the eradication of forced arbitration clauses and nondisclosure agreements for toxic workplace issues. Created and launched by Gretchen Carlson and Julie Roginsky, LOV’s mission is to protect American workers by giving those in toxic work environments the freedom to speak freely about their workplace experiences and free them from the laws and business practices that prevent employees from publicly discussing toxic workplace conditions.