How Workplace Violence, Harassment Have Taken Nigeria By Storm

Instead of teamwork, bonding and relationship building, a recent finding has shown that violence and harassment in the workplace have overpowered Nigeria’s workforce sector.

“Safe at Work? Global experiences of violence and harassment”, based on Lloyd’s Register Foundation’s World Risk Poll, powered by Gallup revealed that men are fractionally more likely to report having experienced violence and harassment at work at a global level (22 per cent vs 20 per cent of women).

However, the most vulnerable subgroups identified by the report are primarily women.

In Nigeria, the report says 29.5 per cent of workers have experienced violence and harassment during their working years, which is more than the global average of 20.9 per cent.

More depressingly, the report says that 69.1 per cent of Nigerians who have experienced workplace violence and harassment have contended with the inhumanity more than three times since they started working.

Compared with the global average, there were differences in the experiences of those working in Nigeria. For example, at 29 per cent globally, women with a tertiary education were among the groups most likely to report experiencing violence and harassment at work.

In Nigeria, this figure was considerably lower at 12.4 per cent.

However, when looking at the experiences of those with primary education, those in Nigeria (21.8 per cent) are more likely to report experiencing workplace violence and harassment compared to the global average of 15 per cent.

With all of these, it is safe to say there is a large gap between education levels and experiences of workplace violence and harassment in Nigeria.

Globally, those already affected by discrimination outside of work – for instance, gender, ethnicity or disability-based – are twice as likely to experience violence and harassment in the workplace (39 per cent compared to 16 per cent).

In Nigeria, 88.8 per cent of those who had experienced discrimination based on nationality or ethnic group had faced violence and harassment.

“While many are aware of violence and harassment in the workplace, the country-specific figures, provided by Lloyd’s Register Foundation, are especially valuable to showcase just how widespread it can be in any given location – and who’s most at risk,” said Suzanne Maybud, an international consultant on gender equality and women’s advancement in the workplace.

According to Dr Sarah Cumbers, Director of Evidence and Insight at Lloyd’s Register Foundation, the World Risk Poll provides the first global and comparable measure of violence and harassment in the workplace, information which is critical to support severe and targeted action to tackle the issue in countries around the world.

“While some of the countries and groups that report the highest levels of experience may at first glance be surprising, this granular data helps us to understand both where interventions are needed to address a recognised problem, and here further work may be required to raise awareness and encourage greater reporting,” Cumbers disclosed.

Our fact check desk understands that the global report polled 125,000 people across 121 countries about their experiences of workplace violence and harassment.