Gregg Wallace: Why open secrets proliferate in the workplace

The Gregg Wallace scandal has exposed the reality of how bad behaviours are often open secrets in the workplace. But why is this the case and how do we reverse it?

“Ah yes, their behaviour was a bit of an open secret.” Those words are frequently heard in the aftermath of an avalanche of allegations of inappropriate behaviour. Often, as has been the case with Gregg Wallace this week, the allegations are numerous and span a number of years. It leads people to question how on earth the individual continued to get away with it. Since the Harvey Weinstein scandal was exposed, we have seen a long list of individuals and companies make the headlines after years of bullying, harassment and abuse in the workplace are finally revealed. Just last month the FCA found that reports of bullying and harassment across the UK’s finance sector have risen by more than two-thirds in the past three years.

Sadly, these workplace open secrets are not uncommon. I am sure there are a great many more ‘open secrets’ to be uncovered. But how do managers in the City tackle this issue and ensure employees feel empowered to come forward and shine a light on these issues? 

How do open secrets take hold?

Firstly, it is important to understand how an open secrets culture begins and takes hold of a workplace. Research from the Academy of Management Journal in 2019 found that as issues become more common knowledge amongst employees, individuals are actually less likely to alert senior management. The research likens this to a bystander effect, where people as a collective feel less individual responsibility for intervening. They presume someone else will help. This effect is intensified when there is a greater number of people present – or, in the case of recent workplace examples, if an individual’s bad behaviour is widespread, ingrained in the culture or particularly targets younger or more inexperienced members of staff. 

Tackling this can be difficult, but it is vital to encourage a culture where individuals do not feel victimised for coming forward and raising a complaint. One of the most common reasons why individuals do not feel comfortable speaking out is because they do not want to ‘rock the boat’ and fear they will damage their own reputation. Sometimes the perpetrator is particularly intimidating and hard to challenge. For example, Crispin Odey, the former hedge fund manager who has been accused of multiple counts of sexual assault and harassment, was characterised as ‘domineering’. 

Ensuring all employees have a sense of psychological safety is therefore key and regular conversations about workplace culture and behaviours should be interwoven into appraisals and one-to-ones with managers. Rigorous and regular training should be provided on what is acceptable workplace language and conduct.  

How can we tackle workplace harassment?

From a legal perspective, we very recently saw a new duty introduced under the Worker Protection Act, which requires employers to take “reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment of their employees. This means organisations are now required to take all reasonable measures to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and this should therefore require a significant overhaul to most existing anti-harassment policies. This change should hopefully yield positive results and a more protected workforce, but it is too early to tell. However, the law is still lacking as we don’t have a clear definition of bullying, and we desperately need clearer structures for reporting and investigating incidents. 

I’ve seen first-hand how toxic workplace cultures can lead to sustained bullying and abuse which causes long-term psychological injuries. Open secrets are sadly all too common in workplaces, particularly in the City, where traditional and out-dated attitudes can still flourish. Exposing these secrets through developing the law needs to be a priority. 

Thomas Beale is head of the workplace bullying and harassment team at Bolt Burdon Kemp