Health and social care staff experience: report 2017

Dignity at Work Survey 2017

Purpose of the Survey

The Dignity at Work Survey was commissioned by the Scottish Government and carried out independently by Webropol Ltd, who provide the software and service used for the delivery of the iMatter Staff Engagement Portal.

The survey was designed to give Health and Social Care Staff in Scotland an opportunity to tell us how they felt about dignity at work in their workplace. The areas addressed in the survey are not currently covered by iMatter and include: bullying and harassment, discrimination, abuse and violence from patients and the public, resourcing and whistleblowing.

About the Survey

The questions asked in the 2017 Dignity at Work Survey were selected from the dignity at work questions used in 2014 and 2015 national Staff Survey, although the term “health board” was replaced with “organisation”.

The question structure of the follow-up questions “I did not report” differ in 2017 compared to previous years as there was no split between their manager/other colleagues and emotional or verbal abuse/physical violence in regards to reasons why the experience was not reported. In 2017, the question was split to provide more focused information. As a result, it is difficult to see where the greatest improvements have been made compared to previous years.

In line with iMatter, the Dignity at Work Survey has included those staff employed by the local authority who work in a Health & Social Care Partnership (HSCP), who chose to participate. Demographic and staff grouping data was also collected in the survey and has been used within the Dignity at Work Survey section of the national report. This data was reported per health board and cannot be associated to any specific individual or their response.

The neutral response option has been removed from the three attitudinal questions, increasing the number of options from five to six, with three positive and three negative options.

Data Collection

The Dignity at Work Survey was conducted using both electronic and paper surveys, and was distributed to the NHSScotland employee population, as well as those employed by the local authority who work in a Health & Social Care Partnership (HSCP), where the HSCP has chosen to participate in the Dignity at Work Survey.

The survey represents the views of staff who responded in 22 health boards, and participating staff in 12 HSCPs. Of the 63,264 respondents 3,407 (5%) were those who identified themselves as local authority staff within HSCPs, and have been included within the associated Health Board and NHSScotland figures.

The survey was published electronically on 6th November 2017 and remained open for a three-week period to collect responses to mirror the iMatter questionnaire response period. Paper copies of the survey were available to print and distribute on the same day, with a deadline to return to Webropol by 11th December. During this data collection process, reminders to complete the survey were sent on a weekly basis. All paper responses received within the deadline were input into the system by 5th January 2018.

In order to get reliable data the following actions were taken during this process. Firstly, the data was collected with full anonymity for the respondent which means individuals could not be identified with regards to the answers. The QR code and email link holds specific data which allows the Webropol system to ensure the responses are uploaded to the correct Directorate for the Dignity at Work Survey. Also it ensures that answers are not given multiple times by the same respondent.

Furthermore, answering each question was optional, which ensured that respondents were not forced into having an opinion on questions which they would rather not answer. These actions have caused the report to have a partial loss of data as questions and options can be skipped but the answers included in the report have a higher level of credibility.

The advantage of the electronic survey over a paper response is a decreased risk of partial data loss. This is due to the increased risk of missing questions or completion errors with paper responses, for example selecting more than one answer to the same question where only 1 response is required. This is avoided in electronic surveys due to the way they are set up. Another disadvantage of postal surveys is the increased time for submitting responses, the time taken to send a postal survey can in some cases result to missing surveys or delays. However, paper surveys also come with their own advantages such as reaching out to more respondents, particularly those who work in areas where access to computers is limited or not required, which can result in an increased response rate.

Response Rates

In 2017, the Dignity at Work Survey achieved a 36% response rate, representing 63,264 respondents out of 173,621 recipients who completed the survey. Of the 173,621 recipients 12,810 (7%) were staff who identified themselves as local authority employees within HSCPs. Of the 63,264 respondents 3,407 (5%) were those who identified themselves as local authority staff within HSCPs. This response rate is similar to earlier years such as the 2015 national staff survey, which achieved a 38% response rate, and 35% in 2014.

Organisation	Response Rate 2015	Improvement	Response Rate 2017
Golden Jubilee	37%		35%
Health Improvement Scotland	80%		69%
NHS 24	61%		46%
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	45%		39%
NHS Borders	49%		36%
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	41%		21%
NHS Education for Scotland	55%		48%
NHS Fife	39%		39%
NHS Forth Valley	42%		41%
NHS Grampian	37%		40%
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	30%		33%
NHS Health Scotland	84%		73%
NHS Highland	33%		33%
NHS Lanarkshire	35%		30%
NHS Lothian	38%		38%
NHS National Services Scotland	77%		63%
NHS Orkney	53%		50%
NHS Shetland	65%		33%
NHS Tayside	35%		34%
NHS Western Isles	48%		42%
Scottish Ambulance Service	37%		34%
The State Hospital	34%		52%

The total number of surveys sent increased from 160,635 in 2015 to 173,621 in 2017. Despite the fact that a smaller proportion of respondents answered the questionnaire in 2017, the total number of survey responses received has increased by 4% from 60,681 in 2015 to 63,264 in 2017. This is due to the total number of surveys sent being greater in 2017 compared to previous years. It should be noted this includes local authority staff not previously included.

For previous years the survey was live for a period of 6 weeks to collect answers. This year it was open for 3 weeks to reflect the iMatter questionnaire completion period. It should be noted that the reduction in the live period may have impacted on the response rate compared to previous years.

The majority of surveys were sent by email (83%), achieving a response rate of 41%. Paper surveys achieved a response rate of 16%. An overall response rate of 36% was achieved.

	Electronic	Paper	Total
Surveys Sent	144,624	28,997	173,621
Responses Received	58,668	4,599	63,264
Response Rate	41%	16%	36%

1,429 (0.8%) of the surveys were received by Webropol past the deadline. Since these were received within 5 working days, in the spirit of inclusion the Scottish Government agreed that these responses should be included.

The response rates achieved by the organisations varied significantly. The organisations with the highest response rates were the following:

• NHS Health Scotland: 73%
• Healthcare Improvement Scotland: 69%
• NHS National Services Scotland: 63%

The organisations with the lowest response rates were the following:

• NHS Dumfries & Galloway: 21%
• NHS Lanarkshire: 30%
• NHS Shetland: 33%

The organisations which achieved the highest response rates have a lower number of staff which in turn resulted in a lower number of surveys being sent, including paper surveys. This shows that organisations with a smaller staff population achieved a significant response ratio considering their size.

The response rate for paper was low for the following organisations:

• NHS Dumfries & Galloway, 1 completed out of 393 surveys sent (0%)
• NHS Fife, 61 completed out of 1,832 surveys sent (3%)
• NHS Forth Valley, 25 completed out of 689 surveys sent (4%)

The 2017 survey contained no mandatory questions which meant that the survey could be submitted with unanswered questions leading to partial responses.

The questions respondents chose not to answer most were:

• The demographic question relating to sexuality.
• During the past 12 months while working for your organisation have you experienced emotional/verbal abuse from patients/service users or other members of the public?
• During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced physical violence from patients/service users or other members of the public?

The questions respondents chose to answer most were:

• During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from your manager? This was also the first question within the survey.
• During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from your manager.

There is no pattern that indicates that questions toward the end of the survey had a higher share of respondents not answering those questions.

Dignity at Work Survey 2017 Results

Unfair Discrimination

During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from your manager?

Number of respondents: 62893

Did you report the unfair discrimination you experienced?

Number of respondents: 3076

Were you satisfied with the response that you received?

Number of respondents: 851

I did not report the unfair discrimination because......

Number of respondents: 2350

During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from other colleagues?

Number of respondents: 62495

Did you report the unfair discrimination you experienced?

Number of respondents: 3491

Were you satisfied with the response you received?

Number of respondents: 1179

I did not report the unfair discrimination because......

Number of respondents: 2274

95% of respondents had not experienced unfair discrimination from their manager. Of the 5% that did experience unfair discrimination from their manager 28% reported it. Of those who reported it 18% felt satisfied with the response they had received.

Staff were more likely to report unfair discrimination from other colleagues than from their manager. Results showed that of those who responded 34% reported unfair discrimination from other colleagues compared to 28% from their manager.

Of those who responded, the 3 main concerns identified for not reporting unfair discrimination were “I felt nothing would happen”, “I feared what would happen if I reported it” and “I was concerned about confidentiality”. This was the same whether the discrimination was from other colleagues or their manager. However, the concerns were higher if the discrimination was related to a manager.

Reason for not reporting	Discrimination from their manager % = Agree	Discrimination from other colleagues % = Agree
I felt nothing would happen	97%	91%
I feared what would happen if I did report it	89%	79%
I was concerned about confidentiality	87%	82%

Bullying/Harassment

During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from your manager?

Number of respondents: 62725

Did you report the bullying/harassment you experienced?

Number of respondents: 5634

Were you satisfied with the response you received?

Number of respondents: 1525

I did not report the bullying/harassment because...

Number of respondents: 4283

During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from other colleagues?

Number of respondents: 62489

Did you report the bullying/harassment you experienced?

Number of respondents: 9193

Were you satisfied with the response you received?

Number of respondents: 3893

I did not report the bullying/harassment because...

Number of respondents: 5211

During the past year, 91% of respondents had not experienced bullying/harassment from their manager. Of the 9% of the respondents who had experienced bullying/harassment from their manager, 25% of these reported it. Of those who had reported it 27% felt satisfied with the response they received.

85% of respondents had not experienced bullying/harassment from other colleagues. Of the 15% of the respondents who did experience bullying/harassment from other colleagues 43% stated they had reported it. Of those that reported it, 38% were satisfied with the response they received.

Of those who responded, the results indicate that a higher number of respondents experienced bullying/harassment from other colleagues rather than from their manager.

Results show that 43% reported bullying/harassment from other colleagues, of which 38% were satisfied with the response they received. This compares to 25% reporting bullying/harassment from their manager, of which 27% were satisfied with the response they received.

Of those who responded, the 3 main concerns identified for not reporting bullying/ harassment were “I felt nothing would happen”, “I feared what would happen if I reported it” and “I was concerned about confidentiality”. This was the same whether the bullying/harassment was from other colleagues or their manager. However, the results indicate that the concerns were higher if the bullying/harassment was related to their manager.

Reason for not reporting	Bullying/Harassment from your manager % = Agree	Bullying/Harassment from other colleagues % = Agree
I felt nothing would happen	94%	87%
I feared what would happen if I did report it	90%	79%
I was concerned about confidentiality	87%	79%

Abuse and Violence

During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced emotional/verbal abuse from patients/service users or other members of the public?

Number of respondents: 62010

Did you report the emotional/verbal abuse you experienced?

Number of respondents: 17649

Were you satisfied with the response you received?

Number of respondents: 8839

I did not report the emotional/verbal abuse because...

Number of respondents: 8258

During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced physical violence from patients/service users or other members of the public?

Number of respondents: 62066

Did you report the physical violence you experienced?

Number of respondents: 4392

Were you satisfied with the response that you received?

Number of respondents: 3413

I did not report the physical violence because...

Number of respondents: 876

The results indicate 71% of respondents had not experienced emotional/verbal abuse from patients/service users or other members of the public. Of those who responded 50% indicated they had reported the experience. Of those who reported it 65% were satisfied with the response they received.

Of those who responded 93% reported that they had not experienced physical violence from patients/service users or other members of the public. Of the 7% who experienced physical violence and answered the question on whether they had reported it, 79% responded that they had. 60% were satisfied with the response they received.

Of those who did not report any verbal abuse or physical violence experienced, the 3 main reasons identified were “I felt nothing would happen”, “I thought it would take too much time to report it” and “I thought it would take too long for anything to be done about it”. The results for not reporting any verbal abuse or physical violence show a strong similarity.

Reason for not reporting	Emotional/Verbal Abuse % = Agree	Physical Violence % = Agree
I felt nothing would happen	73%	75%
I thought it would take too much time to report it	43%	39%
I thought it would take too long for anything to be done about it	40%	38%

The tables below show the percentage of positive responses to questions relating to the overall experience of working for your organisation.

• Did you experience … – The % represents those respondents who answered “no”.
• Did you report – The % represents those respondents who answered “yes”.
• Satisfied with response – The % represents those respondents who answered “yes”.

Unfair Discrimination

Organisation	During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from your manager?			During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from other colleagues?
	Did you experience % = no	Did you report % = yes	Satisfied with response % = yes	Did you experience % = no	Did you report % = yes	Satisfied with response % = yes
Golden Jubilee Foundation	97%	38%	25%	95%	53%	44%
Healthcare Improvement Scotland	96%	27%	25%	96%	31%	25%
NHS 24	96%	38%	30%	94%	29%	9%
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	96%	27%	20%	95%	33%	22%
NHS Borders	95%	33%	19%	93%	50%	27%
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	95%	22%	44%	94%	35%	50%
NHS Education for Scotland	97%	18%	0%	95%	18%	33%
NHS Fife	95%	24%	17%	94%	36%	30%
NHS Forth Valley	94%	27%	21%	94%	37%	24%
NHS Grampian	95%	28%	15%	94%	37%	28%
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	95%	30%	18%	95%	34%	20%
NHS Health Scotland	97%	50%	0%	98%	40%	0%
NHS Highland	95%	26%	20%	95%	33%	34%
NHS Lanarkshire	96%	29%	22%	95%	31%	27%
NHS Lothian	96%	30%	17%	95%	35%	31%
NHS National Services Scotland	96%	20%	12%	95%	29%	13%
NHS Orkney	95%	50%	12%	93%	37%	33%
NHS Shetland	95%	28%	29%	94%	46%	50%
NHS Tayside	94%	25%	21%	94%	36%	29%
NHS Western Isles	96%	33%	17%	92%	27%	0%
Scottish Ambulance Service	89%	27%	2%	89%	22%	13%
The State Hospital	92%	21%	17%	92%	27%	25%
NHSScotland	95%	28%	18%	94%	34%	26%

Bullying and Harrassment

Organisation	During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from your manager?			During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from other colleagues?
	Did you experience % = no	Did you report % = yes	Satisfied with response % = yes	Did you experience % = no	Did you report % = yes	Satisfied with response % = yes
Golden Jubilee Foundation	92%	29%	33%	85%	27%	58%
Healthcare Improvement Scotland	91%	26%	50%	85%	28%	43%
NHS 24	93%	36%	24%	86%	33%	31%
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	93%	24%	32%	86%	45%	42%
NHS Borders	90%	24%	40%	82%	44%	44%
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	91%	24%	45%	83%	42%	38%
NHS Education for Scotland	94%	19%	25%	89%	40%	25%
NHS Fife	91%	20%	28%	86%	44%	43%
NHS Forth Valley	88%	22%	18%	85%	47%	35%
NHS Grampian	92%	26%	23%	85%	43%	37%
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	91%	26%	28%	86%	43%	37%
NHS Health Scotland	90%	29%	29%	93%	71%	55%
NHS Highland	90%	28%	24%	83%	43%	41%
NHS Lanarkshire	93%	29%	29%	88%	45%	40%
NHS Lothian	91%	28%	28%	86%	43%	38%
NHS National Services Scotland	92%	24%	33%	88%	38%	35%
NHS Orkney	89%	24%	22%	81%	27%	39%
NHS Shetland	92%	49%	25%	82%	52%	37%
NHS Tayside	90%	23%	25%	84%	44%	39%
NHS Western Isles	94%	23%	0%	84%	44%	32%
Scottish Ambulance Service	84%	20%	10%	77%	28%	24%
The State Hospital	88%	22%	10%	84%	39%	9%
NHSScotland	91%	25%	27%	85%	43%	38%

Abuse and Violence

Organisation	During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced emotional/verbal abuse from patients/service users or other members of the public?			During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced physical violence from patients/service users or other members of the public?
	Did you experience % = no	Did you report % = yes	Satisfied with response % = yes	Did you experience % = no	Did you report % = yes	Satisfied with response % = yes
Golden Jubilee Foundation	82%	44%	62%	96%	57%	69%
Healthcare Improvement Scotland	95%	62%	90%	100%	0%	0%
NHS 24	51%	41%	56%	100%	100%	100%
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	68%	53%	63%	91%	76%	56%
NHS Borders	71%	62%	67%	91%	91%	66%
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	72%	52%	71%	94%	73%	71%
NHS Education for Scotland	91%	40%	87%	99%	67%	100%
NHS Fife	69%	55%	64%	91%	82%	57%
NHS Forth Valley	67%	54%	63%	92%	80%	61%
NHS Grampian	72%	53%	68%	93%	81%	59%
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	72%	49%	62%	93%	79%	57%
NHS Health Scotland	98%	20%	100%	100%	0%	0%
NHS Highland	72%	53%	66%	95%	86%	66%
NHS Lanarkshire	72%	51%	65%	96%	76%	57%
NHS Lothian	70%	49%	71%	92%	79%	68%
NHS National Services Scotland	93%	49%	51%	100%	0%	0%
NHS Orkney	83%	53%	80%	99%	80%	50%
NHS Shetland	74%	63%	76%	92%	84%	86%
NHS Tayside	70%	51%	61%	92%	78%	62%
NHS Western Isles	85%	60%	69%	95%	90%	68%
Scottish Ambulance Service	46%	27%	38%	84%	57%	39%
The State Hospital	64%	81%	76%	75%	100%	74%
NHSScotland	71%	50%	65%	93%	79%	60%

Whistleblowing and Resourcing

I believe it is safe to speak up and challenge the way things are done if I have concerns about quality, negligence or wrongdoing by staff.

Number of respondents: 62586

I can meet all the conflicting demands on my time at work

Number of respondents: 62405

There are enough staff for me to do my job properly

Number of respondents: 62643

Whistleblowing and Resourcing

The table below shows the percentage of positive responses to (strongly agree and agree) questions related to whistleblowing and resourcing.

These questions were phrased positively and invited participants to respond on a scale of strongly agree to strongly disagree. Responses of strongly agree and agree were considered as the positive response.

Organisation	Whistleblowing	Resourcing	Resourcing
	I believe it is safe to speak up and challenge the way things are done if I have concerns about quality, negligence or wrongdoing by staff % = Strongly agree & Agree	I can meet all the conflicting demands on my time at work % = Strongly agree & Agree	There are enough staff for me to do my job properly % = Strongly agree & Agree
Golden Jubilee Foundation	66%	54%	40%
Healthcare Improvement Scotland	62%	53%	50%
NHS 24	58%	51%	31%
NHS Ayrshire & Arran	66%	48%	36%
NHS Borders	63%	41%	30%
NHS Dumfries & Galloway	62%	43%	31%
NHS Education for Scotland	71%	54%	51%
NHS Fife	67%	47%	33%
NHS Forth Valley	62%	41%	28%
NHS Grampian	68%	47%	35%
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde	65%	46%	33%
NHS Health Scotland	69%	53%	54%
NHS Highland	62%	45%	34%
NHS Lanarkshire	68%	48%	36%
NHS Lothian	69%	46%	34%
NHS National Services Scotland	66%	53%	45%
NHS Orkney	59%	42%	36%
NHS Shetland	68%	47%	35%
NHS Tayside	63%	42%	30%
NHS Western Isles	63%	51%	45%
Scottish Ambulance Service	49%	35%	20%
The State Hospital	53%	53%	33%
NHSScotland	65%	46%	34%

In the question regarding the perception of whether it is safe to speak up and challenge the way things are done, 65% of respondents agree with this statement. 46% of respondents agreed that they can meet all the conflicting demands of their work time. 34% of respondents agree with the statement there are enough staff for them to perform their jobs properly.

Comparison to Previous Years

Unfair Discrimination

There has been a positive improvement in the share of respondents who experienced unfair discrimination from their manager or other colleagues. In 2017, 5% of the respondents had experienced unfair discrimination from their manager. This is a decrease of 2% from 2015 where 7% had experienced unfair discrimination. The same trend can also be seen for respondents experiencing unfair discrimination from other colleagues, which also sees a 2% decrease from 2015 to 6%.

In 2017, 28% of respondents who had experienced unfair discrimination from their manager reported it and 34% who had experienced unfair discrimination from other colleagues reported it. In 2015 this question was not split by manager and colleagues, however, the results show that 34% had reported unfair discrimination from either their manager or other colleagues. In 2017, of those respondents who reported unfair discrimination, 18% were satisfied with the response received where it was about their manager and 26% where it was about other colleagues. During 2015, 29% were satisfied with the response received for either their manager or other colleagues.

A negative trend in positive responses can be seen for the majority of reasons accounting for why unfair discrimination was not reported. The biggest decrease in positive responses can be seen for the following. For clarity a positive response is where the respondent disagreed with the following statements:

• “I was unaware of how to report it”. In 2017, 62% disagreed with this statement about their manager and 70% about other colleagues. This compares to 74% in 2015.
• “I feared what would happen if I did report it”. In 2017, 11% disagreed with this statement about their manager and 21% about other colleagues. This compares to 21% in 2015.

Bullying/Harassment

The share of respondents that had not experienced bullying/harassment from their manager decreased by 1% from 92% in 2015 to 91% in 2017. The share of respondents that had not experienced bullying/harassment from other colleagues decreased by 2% from 87% in 2015 to 85% in 2017.

• Bullying/harassment was reported in 25% of the cases when it was by their manager and in 43% of the cases when it was by other colleagues. This compares to 37% in 2015.
• 27% of the respondents who reported bullying/harassment from their manager were satisfied with the response received and 38% were satisfied with the response received for reported bullying/harassment from other colleagues. This compares to 36% in 2015.

For the statements relating to why bullying/harassment was not reported, the 2017 responses were less positive than in 2015.

• “I was unaware of how to report it”. The share of respondents that disagreed with the statement decreased from 81% in 2015 compared to 70% about their managers and 79% about other colleagues and in 2017.
• “I feared what would happen if I did report it”. The share of respondents that disagreed with the statement decreased from 21% in 2015 compared to 10% about their manager and 21% for other colleagues in 2017.
• In 2017, 87% of the respondents didn’t report that they had experienced bullying/harassment from their manager, and 79% from other colleagues because they were concerned about their confidentiality. This compares to 77% in 2015.

Abuse and Violence

In 2017 a positive improvement can be seen for respondents reporting they had experienced either emotional, verbal abuse or physical violence from patients/service users or other members of the public.

The biggest improvement has been made for respondents who experienced emotional/ verbal abuse. In 2015, 66% of the those who responded reported they had not experienced emotional/verbal abuse. This improved by 5% in 2017 to 71%.

In 2017, 93% of the respondents reported they have not experienced physical violence. Of those who responded to this question 7% specified they had experienced physical violence, which is an improvement of 1% compared to 8% in 2015.

Out of the respondents who indicated they had experienced emotional/verbal abuse 50% reported it. Of those who experienced physical violence 79% reported it. This compares positively to 2015 where only 47% of the respondents either reported emotional/verbal abuse or physical violence at that time.

65% feel satisfied with the response received for reported emotional/verbal abuse and 60% feel satisfied with the response received for physical violence. This shows a decline in the level of satisfaction since 2015 when 67% were satisfied with the response received for emotional/verbal abuse or physical violence.

Results showed a decline in the positive score to some of the statements for not reporting emotional/verbal abuse or physical violence experienced. The biggest decrease was for “I felt nothing would happen”. In 2015 the positive response was 39%. In 2017 this has decreased to 27% for emotional/verbal abuse and 25% for physical violence.

Whistleblowing and Resourcing

In 2017, 2 out of 3 attitudinal statements received more positive responses than in 2015.

In 2017, 65% of the respondents answered positively to the statement “I believe it safe to speak up and challenge the way things are done if I have concerns about quality, negligence or wrongdoing by staff”. This shows significant improvement of 9% compared to 2015 where 56% responded positively to this statement.

In 2017, 46% of respondents answered positively to the statement “I can meet all the conflicting demands on my time at work”. This remained the same as 2015 where 46% also responded positively to this statement.

In 2017, 34% of respondents answered positively to the statement “There are enough staff for me to do my job properly”. This is an improvement of 1% to 2015 when 33% of respondents answered positively to this statement.

Results by Staff and Demographic grouping

The following tables below show the percentage of positive responses to questions relating to the overall experience of working for your organisation.

• Did you experience ….. – The % represents those respondents who answered “no”.

• Did you report – The % represents those respondents who answered “yes”.

• Satisfied with response – The % represents those respondents who answered “yes”.

• Attitudinal questions – The % represents those respondents who strongly agree or agree with the statement.

NHSScotland Employee – Staff Grouping

Response count

NHSScotland Staff Groups	Response Count
Administrative Services	13592
Health Science Services	2211
Nursing and Midwifery	19515
Senior Managers	1468
Allied Health Profession	7503
Medical and Dental	4605
Other Therapeutic	1186
Support Services	5339
Ambulance Services	1453
Medical and Dental Support	717
Personal and Social Care	552

Questions

NHSScotland Employees:

	Admin Services	Health Science Services	Nursing and Midwifery	Senior Managers	Allied Health Profession	Medical and Dental	Other Therapeutic	Support Services	Ambulance Services	Medical and Dental Support	Personal and Social Care
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from your manager?	96%	93%	95%	96%	96%	95%	96%	94%	88%	95%	94%
Did you report the unfair discrimination you experienced?	31%	27%	27%	23%	25%	25%	30%	34%	27%	28%	16%
Were you satisfied with the response that you received?	15%	26%	20%	8%	15%	16%	29%	20%	2%	20%	0%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from other colleagues?	95%	93%	94%	95%	96%	94%	95%	93%	88%	92%	96%
Did you report the unfair discrimination you experienced?	38%	31%	35%	35%	32%	28%	21%	39%	22%	29%	40%
Were you satisfied with the response that you received?	24%	22%	28%	22%	29%	25%	17%	27%	11%	25%	12%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from your manager?	91%	90%	90%	91%	93%	91%	93%	91%	83%	91%	90%
Did you report the bullying/harassment you experienced?	28%	21%	23%	23%	27%	25%	24%	31%	20%	21%	21%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	26%	26%	31%	13%	31%	19%	14%	25%	8%	7%	30%

Questions

NHSScotland Employees:

	Admin Services	Health Science Services	Nursing and Midwifery	Senior Managers	Allied Health Profession	Medical and Dental	Other Therapeutic	Support Services	Ambulance Services	Medical and Dental Support	Personal and Social Care
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from other colleagues?	86%	80%	84%	84%	87%	86%	85%	86%	77%	82%	87%
Did you report the bullying/harassment you experienced?	45%	38%	43%	42%	41%	35%	40%	47%	29%	39%	54%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	34%	39%	41%	32%	43%	38%	44%	30%	25%	34%	43%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced emotional/verbal abuse from patients/service users or other members of the public?	82%	91%	57%	84%	76%	67%	83%	87%	42%	76%	74%
Did you report the emotional/verbal abuse you experienced?	46%	32%	60%	46%	40%	23%	40%	49%	28%	35%	71%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	68%	54%	63%	72%	74%	70%	69%	51%	38%	57%	72%

Questions

NHSScotland Employees:

	Admin Services	Health Science Services	Nursing and Midwifery	Senior Managers	Allied Health Profession	Medical and Dental	Other Therapeutic	Support Services	Ambulance Services	Medical and Dental Support	Personal and Social Care
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced physical violence from patients/service users or other members of the public?	100%	99%	84%	100%	97%	95%	98%	98%	82%	98%	92%
Did you report the physical violence you experienced?	71%	53%	83%	100%	58%	41%	89%	82%	57%	67%	84%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	47%	33%	60%	100%	82%	65%	69%	56%	39%	50%	75%
I believe it is safe to speak up and challenge the way things are done if I have concerns about quality, negligence or wrongdoing by staff	62%	61%	68%	75%	65%	66%	62%	65%	47%	57%	69%
I can meet all the conflicting demands on my time at work	59%	43%	41%	37%	36%	37%	35%	59%	35%	54%	58%
There are enough staff for me to do my job properly	47%	28%	27%	33%	26%	31%	27%	40%	19%	43%	42%

Local Authority Employee – Staff Grouping

Response Count

Local Authority Staff Groups	Response Count
Adult Services	1641
Criminal Justice	155
Strategic Development	59
Business Services	161
Older People Services	950
Children’s Services	327
Senior Managers	45

Questions

Local Authority Employees:

	Adult Services	Criminal Justice	Strategic Development	Business Services	Older People Services	Children's Services	Senior Managers
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from your manager?	95%	93%	95%	99%	96%	95%	98%
Did you report the unfair discrimination you experienced?	30%	55%	33%	0%	25%	6%	100%
Were you satisfied with the response that you received?	29%	20%	0%	0%	20%	0%	0%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from other colleagues?	95%	95%	93%	99%	95%	95%	100%
Did you report the unfair discrimination you experienced?	40%	43%	75%	50%	42%	27%	0%
Were you satisfied with the response that you received?	33%	0%	0%	0%	44%	0%	0%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from your manager?	92%	83%	95%	97%	93%	91%	88%
Did you report the bullying/harassment you experienced?	32%	38%	33%	0%	18%	21%	60%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	40%	0%	0%	0%	25%	43%	0%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from other colleagues?	87%	86%	90%	94%	90%	92%	81%
Did you report the bullying/harassment you experienced?	51%	36%	50%	70%	52%	65%	25%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	46%	25%	25%	57%	41%	41%	50%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced emotional/verbal abuse from patients/service users or other members of the public?	66%	55%	91%	85%	66%	51%	83%
Did you report the emotional/verbal abuse you experienced?	67%	56%	80%	58%	74%	75%	57%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	72%	68%	100%	86%	73%	75%	100%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced physical violence from patients/service users or other members of the public?	90%	98%	100%	100%	91%	87%	98%
Did you report the physical violence you experienced?	90%	100%	0%	0%	87%	100%	100%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	73%	67%	0%	0%	60%	64%	100%
I believe it is safe to speak up and challenge the way things are done if I have concerns about quality, negligence or wrongdoing by staff	73%	51%	67%	72%	75%	69%	86%
I can meet all the conflicting demands on my time at work	51%	44%	45%	55%	51%	40%	36%
There are enough staff for me to do my job properly	37%	37%	37%	45%	38%	30%	31%

Gender

Response Count

Gender	Response Count
Male	11542
Female	48384
Other	34
Prefer not to answer	2323

Questions

Are you:

	Male	Female	Other	Prefer not to answer
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from your manager?	94%	96%	79%	88%
Did you report the unfair discrimination you experienced?	26%	29%	43%	24%
Were you satisfied with the response that you received?	14%	19%	0%	14%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from other colleagues?	93%	95%	77%	88%
Did you report the unfair discrimination you experienced?	29%	36%	43%	28%
Were you satisfied with the response that you received?	19%	29%	0%	17%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from your manager?	90%	92%	73%	76%
Did you report the bullying/harassment you experienced?	25%	27%	33%	18%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	17%	30%	0%	25%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from other colleagues?	86%	86%	79%	71%
Did you report the bullying/harassment you experienced?	36%	45%	43%	33%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	33%	40%	0%	25%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced emotional/verbal abuse from patients/service users or other members of the public?	72%	72%	65%	66%
Did you report the emotional/verbal abuse you experienced?	42%	53%	55%	48%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	62%	66%	50%	48%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced physical violence from patients/service users or other members of the public?	92%	93%	88%	92%
Did you report the physical violence you experienced?	74%	80%	100%	76%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	58%	62%	50%	45%
I believe it is safe to speak up and challenge the way things are done if I have concerns about quality, negligence or wrongdoing by staff	65%	67%	52%	38%
I can meet all the conflicting demands on my time at work	46%	47%	50%	32%
There are enough staff for me to do my job properly	32%	35%	21%	22%

Sexuality

Response Count

Sexuality	Response Count
Bisexual	695
Gay man	656
Heterosexual	53394
Lesbian /Gay Woman	499
Other	589
Prefer not to answer	5887

Questions

Which of the following options best describes how you think of yourself?

	Bisexual	Gay man	Heterosexual	Lesbian / Gay Woman	Other	Prefer not to answer
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from your manager?	94%	94%	96%	93%	94%	92%
Did you report the unfair discrimination you experienced?	30%	22%	28%	24%	29%	28%
Were you satisfied with the response that you received?	25%	0%	17%	0%	40%	20%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from other colleagues?	93%	90%	95%	89%	93%	91%
Did you report the unfair discrimination you experienced?	30%	31%	34%	33%	37%	34%
Were you satisfied with the response that you received?	21%	19%	26%	22%	29%	29%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from your manager?	88%	88%	92%	89%	92%	86%
Did you report the bullying/harassment you experienced?	26%	23%	26%	16%	25%	25%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	24%	14%	27%	50%	36%	27%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from other colleagues?	85%	81%	86%	82%	89%	80%
Did you report the bullying/harassment you experienced?	37%	40%	43%	45%	52%	40%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	44%	37%	39%	15%	39%	31%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced emotional/verbal abuse from patients/service users or other members of the public?	72%	57%	72%	70%	78%	68%
Did you report the emotional/verbal abuse you experienced?	60%	47%	50%	50%	57%	50%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	63%	52%	66%	60%	56%	57%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced physical violence from patients/service users or other members of the public?	91%	88%	93%	89%	93%	92%
Did you report the physical violence you experienced?	76%	72%	79%	84%	82%	81%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	60%	39%	62%	50%	52%	55%
I believe it is safe to speak up and challenge the way things are done if I have concerns about quality, negligence or wrongdoing by staff	66%	61%	67%	64%	72%	55%
I can meet all the conflicting demands on my time at work	48%	41%	46%	45%	59%	40%
There are enough staff for me to do my job properly	34%	27%	35%	29%	45%	29%

Age

Response Count

Age	Response Count
16 – 20 years	177
21 – 30 years	6448
31 – 40 years	11474
41 – 50 years	18184
51 – 65 years	22327
Over 65 years	666
Prefer not to answer	3432

Questions

What was your age at your last birthday?:

	16 - 20 years	21 - 30 years	31 - 40 years	41 - 50 years	51 - 65 years	Over 65 years	Prefer not to answer
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from your manager?	93%	96%	95%	95%	96%	97%	89%
Did you report the unfair discrimination you experienced?	33%	20%	25%	30%	31%	48%	24%
Were you satisfied with the response that you received?	25%	20%	18%	17%	20%	0%	11%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from other colleagues?	94%	93%	94%	95%	95%	95%	89%
Did you report the unfair discrimination you experienced?	10%	30%	33%	37%	36%	36%	28%
Were you satisfied with the response that you received?	0%	30%	26%	27%	26%	10%	21%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from your manager?	91%	94%	93%	91%	91%	95%	78%
Did you report the bullying/harassment you experienced?	27%	23%	26%	26%	28%	32%	18%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	75%	30%	27%	25%	28%	0%	26%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from other colleagues?	91%	86%	86%	85%	87%	94%	73%
Did you report the bullying/harassment you experienced?	40%	41%	42%	43%	45%	50%	34%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	50%	42%	38%	38%	40%	35%	26%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced emotional/verbal abuse from patients/service users or other members of the public?	76%	66%	71%	70%	74%	86%	65%
Did you report the emotional/verbal abuse you experienced?	32%	49%	49%	51%	52%	53%	48%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	77%	64%	63%	65%	68%	70%	52%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced physical violence from patients/service users or other members of the public?	97%	89%	92%	93%	94%	98%	93%
Did you report the physical violence you experienced?	100%	75%	79%	80%	80%	91%	76%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	67%	57%	61%	62%	63%	50%	49%

Questions

What was your age at your last birthday?:

	16 - 20 years	21 - 30 years	31 - 40 years	41 - 50 years	51 - 65 years	Over 65 years	Prefer not to answer
I believe it is safe to speak up and challenge the way things are done if I have concerns about quality, negligence or wrongdoing by staff	68%	66%	66%	66%	68%	80%	41%
I can meet all the conflicting demands on my time at work	80%	51%	46%	43%	48%	75%	33%
There are enough staff for me to do my job properly	57%	35%	33%	33%	36%	56%	22%

Ethnicity

Response Count

Ethnicity	Response Count
White	58175
Mixed or Multiple Ethnic Group	312
Asian, Asian Scottish or Asian British	1081
African	248
Caribbean or Black	59
Other Ethnic Group	213
Prefer not to answer	2318

Questions

Which best describes your ethnic group or background?

	White	Mixed or Multiple Ethnic Group	Asian, Asian Scottish / British	African	Caribbean or Black	Other Ethnic Group	Prefer not to answer
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from your manager?	95%	92%	93%	87%	88%	90%	90%
Did you report the unfair discrimination you experienced?	29%	21%	26%	30%	14%	19%	22%
Were you satisfied with the response that you received?	17%	20%	25%	56%	0%	25%	13%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from other colleagues?	95%	91%	89%	82%	87%	87%	89%
Did you report the unfair discrimination you experienced?	34%	32%	33%	43%	14%	30%	31%
Were you satisfied with the response that you received?	26%	0%	24%	47%	0%	12%	23%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from your manager?	91%	90%	92%	92%	82%	87%	83%
Did you report the bullying/harassment you experienced?	25%	25%	39%	35%	20%	36%	22%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	27%	25%	28%	60%	100%	10%	23%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from other colleagues?	86%	83%	86%	79%	76%	81%	76%
Did you report the bullying/harassment you experienced?	43%	42%	48%	51%	38%	63%	37%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	38%	55%	44%	56%	40%	31%	26%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced emotional/verbal abuse from patients/service users or other members of the public?	72%	71%	79%	71%	67%	74%	66%
Did you report the emotional/verbal abuse you experienced?	51%	40%	47%	58%	37%	42%	44%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	65%	69%	67%	63%	86%	39%	50%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced physical violence from patients/service users or other members of the public?	93%	93%	97%	91%	96%	96%	92%
Did you report the physical violence you experienced?	79%	62%	77%	86%	100%	62%	74%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	61%	77%	67%	72%	100%	80%	49%
I believe it is safe to speak up and challenge the way things are done if I have concerns about quality, negligence or wrongdoing by staff	67%	59%	69%	75%	55%	63%	47%
I can meet all the conflicting demands on my time at work	46%	43%	54%	56%	60%	49%	34%
There are enough staff for me to do my job properly	34%	35%	41%	42%	40%	35%	24%

Religion

Response Count

Religion	Response Count
Buddhist	202
Church of Scotland	16453
Hindu	270
Jewish	63
Muslim	401
Pagan	190
Other Christian	4451
Roman Catholic	8494
Sikh	45
None	23908
Other	1066
Prefer not to answer	6633

Questions

Which religion, religious denomination or body do you belong to?

		Buddhist		Church of Scotland		Hindu		Jewish		Muslim		Pagan		Other Christian		Roman Catholic		Sikh	None	Other	Prefer not to answer
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from your manager?		92%		96%		92%		89%		90%		92%		95%		95%		89%	96%	93%	92%
Did you report the unfair discrimination you experienced?		29%		30%		29%		14%		28%		25%		27%		32%		20%	27%	21%	26%
Were you satisfied with the response that you received?		20%		19%		17%		100%		18%		25%		16%		19%		100%	14%	12%	21%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from other colleagues?		88%		96%		89%		88%		86%		88%		94%		94%		89%	95%	92%	91%
Did you report the unfair discrimination you experienced?		29%		36%		32%		0%		37%		26%		31%		37%		20%	34%	26%	31%
Were you satisfied with the response that you received?		14%		29%		37%		0%		10%		33%		32%		25%		0%	28%	18%	22%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from your manager?		89%		92%		92%		92%		90%		87%		91%		92%		89%	92%	89%	85%
Did you report the bullying/harassment you experienced?		26%		26%		41%		20%		29%		29%		28%		30%		60%	25%	21%	22%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?		25%		29%		11%		0%		31%		25%		30%		27%		33%	25%	18%	26%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from other colleagues?		78%		87%		89%		73%		84%		78%		85%		85%		80%	86%	82%	79%
Did you report the bullying/harassment you experienced?		36%		44%		38%		41%		48%		41%		42%		47%		44%	42%	38%	38%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?		47%		38%		36%		57%		27%		41%		43%		39%		50%	38%	41%	32%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced emotional/verbal abuse from patients/service users or other members of the public?	72%		73%		85%		77%		76%		60%		72%		72%		84%		71%	71%	67%
Did you report the emotional/verbal abuse you experienced?	53%		53%		37%		36%		41%		56%		46%		54%		57%		49%	48%	48%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	67%		68%		60%		75%		44%		59%		70%		64%		75%		65%	63%	55%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced physical violence from patients/service users or other members of the public?	90%		93%		99%		90%		96%		84%		94%		93%		100%		92%	92%	92%
Did you report the physical violence you experienced?	68%		80%		67%		67%		79%		87%		77%		81%		0%		77%	81%	80%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	46%		62%		50%		100%		55%		46%		67%		62%		0%		60%	62%	53%
I believe it is safe to speak up and challenge the way things are done if I have concerns about quality, negligence or wrongdoing by staff	63%		69%		71%		59%		68%		57%		66%		69%		68%		65%	63%	52%
I can meet all the conflicting demands on my time at work	51%		48%		49%		34%		57%		41%		43%		50%		50%		46%	48%	38%
There are enough staff for me to do my job properly	34%		36%		42%		33%		40%		24%		34%		36%		48%		34%	34%	28%

Disability

Response Count

Disability	Response Count
Yes	2720
No	57752
Prefer not to answer	2025

Questions

Disability: The Equality Act 2010 describes a disabled person as: '...anyone who has a physical, sensory or mental impairment, which has a substantial and long

term adverse effect on their ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities'. Do you consider yourself to be disabled within the definition of the Equality Act 2010?

	Yes	No	Prefer not to answer
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from your manager?	82%	96%	90%
Did you report the unfair discrimination you experienced?	32%	27%	25%
Were you satisfied with the response that you received?	19%	18%	8%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced unfair discrimination from other colleagues?	82%	95%	88%
Did you report the unfair discrimination you experienced?	37%	33%	37%
Were you satisfied with the response that you received?	23%	27%	21%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from your manager?	80%	92%	83%
Did you report the bullying/harassment you experienced?	33%	25%	23%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	20%	28%	26%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced bullying/harassment from other colleagues?	73%	86%	75%
Did you report the bullying/harassment you experienced?	46%	42%	41%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	32%	39%	32%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced emotional/verbal abuse from patients/service users or other members of the public?	65%	72%	66%
Did you report the emotional/verbal abuse you experienced?	53%	50%	52%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	53%	66%	55%
During the past 12 months while working for your organisation, have you experienced physical violence from patients/service users or other members of the public?	92%	93%	92%
Did you report the physical violence you experienced?	75%	79%	82%
Were you satisfied with the response you received?	41%	62%	46%
I believe it is safe to speak up and challenge the way things are done if I have concerns about quality, negligence or wrongdoing by staff	50%	67%	47%
I can meet all the conflicting demands on my time at work	39%	47%	36%
There are enough staff for me to do my job properly	26%	35%	28%