Over half of Amsterdam municipal workers experienced discrimination, bullying at work

Over half of Amsterdam municipality employees have experienced discrimination, bullying, humiliation, or other inappropriate behavior at work. Managers are often the culprits, the Telegraaf reports from a not-yet-published investigation by the Verwey-Jonker Institute.

The research agency surveyed almost 7,000 municipal employees and considers the results representative of the entire Amsterdam municipal workforce. 55 percent of civil servants said they personally experienced undesirable behavior in the past 12 months, and 63 percent witnessed a colleague being bullied, humiliated, or excluded.

14 percent reported experiencing discrimination. That percentage rises to 25 percent among ethnically diverse employees with roots outside Europe, employees with a disability or chronic illness, or employees who only completed primary school or pre-vocational secondary education. Discrimination is most often based on origin and skin color, but the Verwey-Jonker Institute also received reports of discrimination based on gender, name, accent, sexual orientation, or neurodivergence, like autism or ADHD.

When asked who discriminated against them, over 60 percent said it was one or more managers, like a team leader or director. Other colleagues are also common culprits, much more often than citizens at the counter or on the street.

“It may sound strange, but it is no surprise. Because we have also seen this in previous studies,” responsible alderman Hester van Buren (Personnel and Organization) told the newspaper in an initial response. “We do not accept any form of discrimination, but it is clear that it does occur. That is why we had the research done.”

“We are convinced that things can really improve. We don’t avoid the subject either. We expose the pain points and work on them,” Van Buren said. “We will continue to repeat these studies. It will take time. But we believe that you must not look away. And we also want to be an example for other municipalities and companies.”

The city will hold a large meeting for all civil servants on Tuesday to discuss the report.