Dozens of staff witnessed ‘improper conduct’ in Chief Minister’s department, survey reveals

A number of employees within the Chief Minister’s department say they have witnessed “improper conduct” at work, according to an internal government survey.

Jason Walls

@jas_walls

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April 21, 2022 - 7:31AM

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MORE than 60 employees within the Chief Minister’s department say they have witnessed “improper conduct” at work, according to an internal government survey.

Meanwhile, less than 60 per cent of staff report being confident the conduct would be investigated appropriately and that they would not suffer retaliation for blowing the whistle.

At the same time only 46 per cent of surveyed staff reported that their manager dealt with poorly performing employees appropriately and only 61 per cent said they felt their senior managers “model the behaviours expected of employees”.

The People Matter survey also revealed 20 per cent of staff in the department reported being bullied at work in the past 12 months, with 16 of the 47 employees saying the abuse caused them to take time off work.

A survey of employees in the Chief Minister’s department has revealed how many have witnessed bullying in the workplace.

A total of 54 of the department’s 245 employees said they had witnessed either bullying or sexual harassment in the workplace in the past 12 months.

Slightly more than half the respondents said people recruited to the department “seem to have the right skills for the job” and only 47 per cent said recruitment and promotion decisions were merit based.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Chief Minister and Cabinet said the survey was “an important part of improving workplace culture”.

“The survey provides all NTPS employees with the opportunity to have their say, provide feedback on how the agency is performing and to share ideas for improvement,” she said.

“The health, safety and wellbeing of all employees is of paramount importance and bullying and harassment matters are taken extremely seriously and we have taken action to address a number of matters raised.”