😨 71% of employees who feel unsafe at work cite fear of backlash

Hey HR Pros!

Psychological safety isn’t built by policy, it’s built by trust. And right now, that trust is breaking.

Today we look at what’s fueling the silence across today’s workplaces—from underreported misconduct to AI rollouts happening without alignment or ethics. Employees are witnessing exclusion, retaliation, and favoritism, yet many stay quiet.

Upcoming In This Issue:

• 😨 71% of employees who feel unsafe at work cite fear of backlash

• 🚨 Only 1% of companies are truly AI-mature

• 🤖 53% of companies expect to hire more AI-savvy HR leaders in the next 2 years

• 🛡️ 56% employees don’t report misconduct because they think nothing will change

 📰 Latest in HR News

• Nike among the first targeted by EEOC for DEI activity

• Mark Zuckerberg says AI will ‘dramatically’ change the way we work this year

• 2026 Update: Is government shutdown back pay required by law?

• Worker sues Starbucks, claims company fired her on return from disability leave

😨 71% of employees who feel unsafe at work cite fear of backlash

Download the 2026 State of Harassment Report

In a workforce reshaped by hybrid schedules, new power dynamics, and digital communication, harassment isn’t vanishing; it’s morphing.

While most organizations claim to prioritize prevention, a sizable number of employees still don’t feel safe. And what’s more revealing? Many don’t trust their employers to act—even when misconduct is reported.

This year’s survey of over 2,000 employees across industries shows that fear of retaliation, ineffective handling of reports, and gaps in training still plague even the most compliance-driven workplaces.

Key Insights

• 😨 Fear of retaliation is rampant
  71% of employees who feel unsafe at work cite fear of backlash as the main reason they don’t report incidents.

• 🧑‍💼 Harassers aren’t just “bad apples”
  35% of harassment is perpetrated by supervisors—making leadership training and accountability essential at every level.

• 📉 Not all employees get trained
  14% of employees didn’t receive any harassment training in the last year, with Baby Boomers being the most overlooked group.

• 📡 Digital harassment is growing quietly
  Office workers reported 20% of harassment via social media, 13% through texts, and 11% via workplace chat apps like Slack.

download the full 2,066-word report here

🚨 Only 1% of companies are truly AI-mature

Report by McKinsey

Despite nearly universal AI investment, only 1% of companies say they’ve reached maturity. The surprising reason? Employees are not the blockers—leaders are.

Employees are already using AI more than executives realize, and younger generations, particularly millennials, are eager to lead the charge.

Key Takeaways

• 📊 Employees are outpacing leadership on AI use
  Employees are 3x more likely than leaders realize to be using AI for 30%+ of daily work tasks.

• 🚨 Only 1% of companies are truly AI-mature
  Despite widespread investment, nearly 99% of firms remain stuck in early pilot or “developing” phases.

• 🧠 Millennials are natural AI champions
  62% of millennial managers report high AI familiarity—making them ideal partners for scaling up adoption internally.

• 🔒 Trust is high, but safety still lags
  71% of employees trust their company to roll out AI ethically—yet only 17% of leaders prioritize ethical benchmarks.

read the full 5,845-word report by McKinsey

You are Invited to Building a Gen Z-Ready Workplace

🤖 53% of companies expect to hire more AI-savvy HR leaders in the next 2 years

The 2026 Talent Report by AMS

Everyone agrees: AI is the future of talent acquisition. But nearly half of HR and C-suite leaders admit they’re out of sync on how to use it.

This growing disconnect is causing stalled adoption, unclear priorities, and missed opportunities at a time when competition for skills is peaking.

Key Insights

• 📉 47% of leaders say C-suite and HR aren’t aligned
  Even though 64% believe AI is essential to talent competitiveness, internal disagreement is delaying implementation.

• 🚧 70% worry about AI replacing jobs
  CHROs are most concerned—with 79% fearing automation will impact job security within HR itself.

• 📈 AI won’t replace humans—but will require new ones
  53% of companies expect to hire more AI-savvy HR leaders in the next 2 years to guide the transition.

• 🛡️ Ethical guidelines are becoming standard
  88% of companies have already implemented formal ethical AI rules—93% among CHROs, signaling HR’s leadership in responsible tech use.

read the full 761-word article here

🛡️ 56% employees don’t report misconduct because they think nothing will change

Research report by TalentLMS

Most employees say they feel protected at work, but the data tells a very different story. When asked directly, 71% say they feel safe.

For HR leaders, that’s a wake-up call: protection on paper doesn’t equal protection in practice. Favoritism, retaliation, and a growing fear of futility are quietly eroding the culture of safety.

Key Insights

• 🚫 62% say misconduct is ignored for top performers
  Favoritism protects the powerful—promotions and silence follow, even when bad behavior is widely known.

• 🔇 56% don’t report because they think nothing will change
  Futility, not fear, is the number one reason employees stay quiet after witnessing misconduct.

• 📉 20% received no compliance training in 2025
  Despite legal risks, 1 in 5 employees had zero formal training last year—a massive liability for employers.

• 📉 DEI retrenchment erodes trust
  Among employees at companies pulling back on DEI, 31% say they feel less protected now.

read the full 3,018-word report here