Workplace culture at Nine: independent report paints a disturbing picture
Oct 18, 2024
It’s finally ‘Out in Open’
Yesterday was a tough day at Nine.
The company released the long-awaited report into its workplace culture.
The picture it painted was an ugly one.
Entitled Out in the Open, the report describes a culture with alarming levels of inappropriate behaviour:
- 52% of Nine employees had experienced or witnessed abuse of power or authority.
- 49% of nine employees had experienced bullying, discrimination or harassment
- 24% of Nine employees had experienced sexual harassment.
And things are even worse in the Broadcast Division:
- 62% of Broadcast employees had experienced or witnessed abuse of power or authority.
- 57% of Broadcast employees had experienced bullying, discrimination or harassment.
- 30% of Broadcast has experienced sexual harassment.
And, surprise, surprise, the experience of inappropriate workplace behaviours is gendered. It turns out that women at Nine reported experience all forms of inappropriate workplace behaviour at greater rates than men.
I’m sure you’re as shocked as me.
In their own words: what was it like to work at Nine?
Extracts from interviews that were conducted Nine employees are woven throughout the report.
They are even more powerful than the alarming statistics.
The culture at Nine
‘This place is run like a boys’ club, and I say that as a male. The “cool kids” (those in charge) are woefully underqualified at best. Decisions are made daily based on personal preference of friend/favours instead of to benefit the business/show/ other employees. An absolute joke of a management structure and I’m shocked it’s taken this long to be looked into.’
Abuse of power and authority
‘My experience has been consistent white-anting, gaslighting, prolific lying by [manager].’
‘[Individual] would shame you, stonewall you and you wouldn’t know why she would ignore you. I can think of 3 friends/colleagues who have been suicidal because of her.’
Bullying, discrimination and harassment
‘They used to say, when they were considering women for roles, that they’d rate her on her “fuckability”. They obviously can’t say that now – so they say “that woman has star power” instead. But it means the same thing. As [a] woman, you are valued on how attractive you are. Some women get roles that they deserve. But some get appointed to jobs and you’re left scratching your head and thinking, why? Then you hear the reason is that they said that she has “star power”. That’s why she was appointed…It has evolved from overt talking about women’s looks and bodies, and it’s gone underground now. They still have the same values; they’re still commenting on women’s looks and seeing that they have “star power” as very attractive females.’
‘This behaviour is a daily occurrence in the newsroom in particular. Women are constantly bullied into submission and to a point where we have no confidence or self-worth left. If you challenge your male superior, they more often than not respond aggressively and it costs you professionally and financially. [They] … make you feel you're replaceable and should be grateful to work at Nine, despite the fact all the women in the newsroom are accomplished, intelligent and hard working. There's an enormous pay gap due to this fact as well because you'll simply be pushed aside if you have the audacity to believe you're worth more money.’
‘I'm a grown woman, yet somehow they make me feel like an insecure girl who shouldn't speak up. It's caused a lot of mental health issues and self-doubt. My confidence is shattered and I'm resentful because I know that no matter how hard I work, it's highly unlikely I'll be rewarded with a pay increase or promotion in line with what the males in the industry are on. The men look after one another and continue to succeed and grow and the women silently battle with mental health problems as a result of years of bullying and harassment at Nine.’
Sexual harassment
‘I had been warned about him … I was in my 20s ... His comments about my body were constant …He made me feel like I was just a piece of meat to be ogled at … and that he was the credible one just because he was the older man … Over time, this eroded my confidence … It just chipped away at it.’
‘After he sexually harassed me and I started to avoid him, I noticed that I was being passed over for opportunities … But I didn’t want to compromise my values and didn’t want my association with him to dictate my career. I was in a catch 22 – either I stay near him and risk the rumours that I was being advanced because of being sexually involved with him, or stay away from him and risk the rumours that I had been sexually harassed and now scorned … I really just wanted an environment where I was advanced on merit.’
Barriers to reporting
‘Why didn’t I report this behaviour? This comes down to the promotion of a “culture of fear”. If you reported anything you would be punished, ignored, or called “negative”. You would be assigned stories where you would be set up to fail. You would be denied opportunities.’
‘I've never spoken to anyone about this before. People told me not to talk to you. I've never spoken before because it's not smart.’
Lack of diversity
'A lot of what happens at Nine is a broader cultureal issue that stems from having a primarily whit/cis/male workplace. We talk so often about diversity here and yet there is absolutely no change to be found over and over.'
'I think we are an Anglo Celtic workplace and there is a lot of unconscious bias when it comes to hriing and promoting.'
'My immediate supervisor remarked that a person of a particular race was "pretty good looking" considering their ethnicity, to which I also belong.'
How was such a toxic workplace culture allowed to flourish?
The report identified a range of drivers that created a workplace culture that most people would describe as ‘toxic’, including:
- leaders tolerating inappropriate workplace behaviours
- leaders perpetrating inappropriate workplace behaviours
- leaders lacking the required skills to prevent or respond to inappropriate behaviours
- a high-pressure/competitive industry
- workplace environment systems and processes
- appearance based medium for women
- lack of diversity
- work-related social events where alcohol is present.
What happens next?
The report made 22 recommendations.
The Nine Board has agreed to implement all of them.
The Nine Board has also requested management to provide the Board and employees with a comprehensive action plan to change the company's culture.
The harsh reality is that generating cultural change in organisations is difficult.
The Australian reported this morning that many of the women who participated were gutted because no one was made accountable. All the names in the report had been redacted. As a result, some employees were concerned that the perpetrators would continue on in their roles as if nothing had happened. In short, they are now concerned nothing will change.
The harsh reality is that anyone who reported inappropriate conduct to the independent firm that managed the investigation will now have to make a formal complaint if they want their case investigated.
From the report, it is clear that Nine needs to review and re-build its complaint processes so that it includes an external process for complaints, especially against senior leaders and Board members.
Sadly, setting up the new process will take time.
Once the new process is established, it will also involve the employees who just went through the trauma of describing the awful things they experienced having to go through the process of disclosing all over again. This is likely to be re-traumatising.
It is a far from an ideal situation.
