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The balance of power appears to be changing for workers between bosses seeking tightening the labour market, re-entering the office, and more “masculine” leadership.
Some have turned to collective action as a visible way to applause. Recent examples include public petitions launched by staff at WPP and JPMorgan, protesting stricter rules regarding office attendance. Group action has also been used to expose the poor treatment of women in beer brand breweries and to condemn employers’ stance on political issues such as Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Research shows a tendency to motivate staff to call what they consider unfair treatment. Last year, a vote by the Institute for Business Ethics found that 64% of employees were trying to speak up in the workplace. This is an increase from 57% in 2021.
“What we’re seeing is calling the whistleblowing line and hoping someone does something about it, wanting more collective action and more use of tools to go to social media and media,” said Alison Taylor, NYU Stern’s business professor and author of Higher Ground.
The rise of encrypted messaging platforms such as Telegram and Signal has fueled this kind of direct action, Taylor added.
A 2023 survey by law firm Herbert Smith Freehills found that 59% of employers expected employee activity to increase, while 37% said accessible channels such as social media platforms would be a major trigger.
Much of last year proved they were right. Delta Air Lines’ employers to Meta were hit by staff behaviour through Gaza, but trends such as “QUIT-TOK” when employees posted a video of their fire revealing poor treatment.
Group staff behavior also helped to achieve past changes. Online petitions by female Ted Baker employees highlighted the retailer’s culture of “well-documented” harassment, and helped former CEO Ray Kelvin, for example, resignation.
Caroline Herzig, a former team manager for the UK fashion brand, said the perception that the internal complaint process “has been compromised” felt helpless before she and many of her colleagues made it public.
The petition sparked an internal investigation and Kelvin resigned. Herzig celebrates the success of security provided by collective action. “If you’re just someone in a huge organization, I think all you say is landing in your deaf ear,” she said. “But collectively you can really make a difference.”
Amy Lockwood, executive director of an organization that provides technology and support to implement petitions and other actions, including the Ted Baker campaign, could work as the public approach bumps into businesses in painful locations.
Organizing employees encourage them to pursue internal complaints procedures first. But workers often have no choice but to make it public, Lockwood said.
Robbie Starbuck, a US campaigner who targets employer-awakening agendas, believes that staff members’ ability to easily film and upload bad practices to social media promises greater accountability for bosses “getting off the line.” He said he received such “civic journalism” regularly but did not publish it due to verification concerns. “But if (people) were to send them to me,” he said, “I don’t know why they wouldn’t share them with someone else.”
But workers in some sectors, such as US technology, say there has been crackdowns on Donald Trump’s post-inauguration work. Without institutional support from the union, or other authoritative supporters outside the company, staff may find their efforts have a limited impact.
“Don’t waste your time. According to a recording of the Town Hall Conference reviewed by Reuters, JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon was the response of JPMorgan’s chief executive to staff who protested the rules that JPMorgan’s chief executive must work face-to-face five days a week. The bank has declined to comment, and its policy continues.
Some companies employ fewer public strategies to keep staff quiet, from committing independent investigations and thwarting objections to non-disclosure agreements.
