Young people are the least confident about coming forward to report wrongdoing they have experienced in the workplace, new research has found.

Attitudes to whistleblowing, a study by charity Protect, looked into generational differences in whistleblowing across the UK. It found 61% of people, across all age groups, would opt to speak to their line manager or supervisor if they witnessed wrongdoing or malpractice in the workplace but ‘some generations were more willing to speak up than others’.

Recording age as a data point when reviewing whistleblowing arrangements and highlighting a range of ways to raise concerns could help improve employer procedures, Protect recommended.

Younger workers aged 18-24 were less likely to raise a concern with their employer compared to every other generation. Just 8% of 18-24 year-olds said nothing would prevent them from raising whistleblowing concerns at work, compared to 22% of those aged 55 or older.

The majority (86%) of workers aged 55 and over and 80% of 45-54 year-olds said health and safety concerns would trigger reporting. The biggest area of concern for younger workers was addressing sexual harassment (67% for 18-24 year olds and 76% for 25-34 year olds).

 

For 35-44 year olds the priorities were health and safety (77%) and sexual harassment (77%).

Barriers to reporting wrongdoing varied between age groups, with millennials (35-44 years olds) concerned with mental health issues more than any other age group and 18-24 year olds most concerned about jeopardising others' jobs.

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The report said: ‘From both the survey data and the focus groups, the older generations seem more confident about speaking up. The worrying trend we have found is that the older the cohort – and by extension the longer someone has been in employment – the less confident they are that the concerns they raise will be dealt with appropriately by their employer.’

Protect’s six recommendations for employers include training managers and designated contacts, ensuring policies are implemented properly, making the ‘whistleblowing message personal, welcoming, reassuring and conveyed through diverse methods’, and recording age as a data point.

The report said: ‘Our survey shows all age groups view confidential or anonymous ways of raising concerns as the default option. Where possible, recording the age of staff who use the whistleblowing arrangements and mapping out who is using different methods is a useful way to assess what works well and what does not. When overlaid with overall staff numbers, employers can evaluate which methods are most effective, which will support reviewing their whistleblowing arrangements in the future.’

Other recommendations included having different ways to raise concerns, implementing new methods in a transparent way and engaging with staff to build trust and confidence.