Gen Z are most at risk in the workplace, here’s how to protect yourself

Young people are most as risk for experiencing exploitation or harassment in their workplaces. An expert explains how to protect your rights.

How can young people protect themselves from toxic workplaces as Christmas Casuals?

Young workers are less and less willing to take toxic behaviour from their workplace — but what happens when you're a Christmas Casual and you don’t have much pull to report bad behaviour?

Recent reports found that the wellbeing of people in the workforce aged between 15 and 24 is 18 per cent lower than the average employed person. When you narrow that same group down to people who identify as LGBTQIA+, it’s 28 per cent less.

“Young people started telling us that while spaces like schools might be safe, their workplaces are not.”

Why? It’s not laziness or entitlement, as older generations would have you believe. It’s a mix of very legitimate issues, like Covid-19 and related lockdowns affecting business sectors that are predominantly staffed by young people, rates of pay that don’t match the growing cost of living, and a growing sentiment that — shock, horror — toxic workplaces shouldn’t exist and don’t deserve your loyalty.

The statistics

Toxic they are, especially the retail sector — including supermarkets and fast food retailers.

A 2019 Australian Human Rights Commission Report found that retail and fast food had the highest prevalence of workplace sexual harassment, and a full one third of employees aged between 15 and 17 reporting an experience of sexual harassment.

Similarly, Griffith University conducted a survey on exploitation and harassment of young people in the workplace.

Over half of responders reported economic exploitation in their first job — including incorrect pay and not being allowed proper breaks. A full 49.1 per cent said verbal harassment was a common experience and 32.1 per cent were exposed to unsafe work conditions. Nearly a third experienced ongoing incidents of workplace bullying in their first job.

Despite all this (and more) only about a quarter of respondents had reported these incidents during their first job.

It’s also worth noting that a full 84 per cent of responders had a first job in retail or hospitality, the industries that commonly hire Christmas Casuals.

“Young people started telling us that while spaces like schools might be safe, their workplaces are not,” says Natalie Siegel-Brown, senior adviser of Child Wise.

“In our view, retailers, fast food outlets and supermarkets are all vastly lacking the protections they need for the youth workforce. Employers seem to forget that young people have a lot less power and self-advocacy tools at their disposal.”

Retail and fast food have the highest prevalence of workplace sexual harassment.

How to protect yourself

“Being a young person in a workplace designed for adults can often mean when stuff happens to you, you have no idea you have a right to complain, or where to turn,” explained Siegel-Brown.

“The more we looked into it, the more we found anecdotal evidence that young people are often experiencing abuse at work, with no complaint avenues and clunky adult whistleblower processes,” she continued. Some were lost in HR systems.”

While a lot of young people are taking the opportunity to walk out of jobs that mistreat them, not everyone has that luxury.

Speaking up about workplace issues is always daunting, especially when you’re new to the world of employment. It gets harder again when you’re one of the Christmas Casuals hired for a few months every year.

When you’re desperate to win one of the few promised openings for long-term employment, and you’re not in a workplace long enough to understand the processes, the situation is rife for poor treatment and toxic behaviour being swept under the rug.

We asked Siegel-Brown what young people should do to protect themselves — in any role, but especially as a Christmas Casual:

What should young people in these roles do if they experience a problem?

Don’t think that just because you are the most junior person in the workplace, you don’t have a right to complain. Your employer has an obligation to protect you.

They will have whistleblower policies, and importantly, a Code of Conduct that does spell out your rights. The Code of Conduct will tell you exactly what standard of behaviour you should expect from your colleagues or manager. If you think this has been unmet in anyway, there will be a central number you can call.

Over half of young people experience economic exploitation in their first job.

I know it’s scary because you have to work with these people, but a good employer should have processes in place to protect both your employment and to ensure that you don’t have to work the same shifts as these people while the employer is addressing the issue.

It’s really important to remember that it is illegal for you to lose shifts or your job just because you made a complaint.

What can you if your complaint isn’t taken seriously?

A further conversation with your employer to help them better understand may sometimes help. Where you feel this hasn’t assisted, or might further compromise your safety (remember, safety isn’t just your physical safety but also your psychological safety), you can do a number of things.

Firstly, most large employers (like big supermarkets, retail or fast food chains) will have what we call ‘an escalation pathway’. That is, the ability to take a complaint to someone higher in the company when you feel the person above you hasn’t take it seriously. Again, the pathway for addressing your complaint should be contained in the ‘complaints policy’ of the organisation.

However, if none of these mechanisms exist, the ‘Fair Work Ombudsman’ is an independent organisation to support you with just these sorts of issues. They also have the power to intervene.

What can you do if you feel you’ve lost your job for speaking out?

Remember, it’s illegal to dismiss you from employment just because you made a complaint. The Fair Work legislation in Australia is designed to protect you here. It’s a good idea to call the Fair Work Ombudsman in this situation, or visit your local community legal service.