UK employees are quick to rate their organisation’s diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts; however, they admit to not contributing enough to it themselves, according to GoodHabitz’s latest Diversity & Inclusion Research report.

Europe’s fastest growing digital learning provider surveyed over 13,600 employees across 13 European countries, examining employers’ and employees’ efforts in leading D&I strategies.

The research highlighted the staggering difference between employees’ D&I expectations of their workplaces and their contribution to the cause. Sixty-six per cent of UK employees expect their employers to do more for diversity and inclusion, yet 11% admit to contributing only a minimal extent.

Tim Segers, UK Director of GoodHabitz, said: “Employees contributing to an open-minded, safe and secure workplace is just as important as organisations building those environments; therefore, it’s disappointing to see seven out of 10 employees do little to nothing to contribute to the working environment they want their organisation to embrace.

“Evidently, promoting and stimulating the right behaviour, as well as setting up guidelines in terms of company culture and D&I, should pre-eminently come from an organisational level.

“We know from our research that over 70% of UK employees already feel treated equally in their workplaces; however, it is evident that the majority of employees are still not aware of the importance of their contribution.”

The research compared the UK’s activity against other European countries, with UK employers leading the way in creating equal and inclusive workplace opportunities compared to their European counterparts – 68% of UK employees are noticing their companies’ efforts, which is 7% more than in other surveyed countries.

“However, European employees were contributing 4% more to D&I efforts compared to the UK workforce; 34% of European workers actively encourage diversity and inclusion within their organisation.

Segers continued: “Even though Europe has overtaken UK employees in these statistics, the numbers are still very small. Establishing guidelines and a company culture only work when they are embraced by employees in their daily behaviour.

“Organisations need to take urgent steps to help build a bridge between policy and culture as they work towards the envisioned working environment.

“One way of doing this is to help employees develop the right soft skills to support an organisation’s D&I approach. No less than 67% of UK employees completely agree that online courses help them develop the essential soft skills necessary to ensure D&I is successful on both an organisational and personal level.

“Companies wishing to evaluate their D&I efforts can do so with the help of our D&I checklist, which supports three levels: employees, teams and organisations. It can help pinpoint areas of concern and suggest steps to improve diversity, inclusion and equality within the organisation.”

The GoodHabitz Diversity & Inclusion Research Report is available to download here.