“In the moment” matters: what the BECTU survey tells us, and how tech can help shift culture

A powerful new survey from BECTU has shed a harsh light on the state of workplace behaviour across the creative industries. The union’s “Big Survey,” which gathered responses from over 5,500 creative workers in non-performing roles (from film and TV, theatre, live events, fashion and more), reveals that bullying, harassment and toxic behaviours are not rare exceptions; many workers feel they are tolerated as part of the system.

Key findings: a sector under strain

Here are some of the most striking revelations:

• 71% of creative industry workers say behaviours that would be deemed toxic or inappropriate in civic life are still often tolerated in their workplace.
• The number rises in certain subsectors; for example, 79% of respondents in unscripted TV felt such behaviour was tolerated.
• Over 61% of respondents say they have personally witnessed or experienced bullying or harassment at work.
• Among groups more often subject to power imbalances, the incidence is higher: 69% of women, 72% of disabled workers, and 63% of global majority (ethnic minority) respondents reported direct experience of such conduct in the prior 12 months.
• Yet, despite those high numbers, only ~55% of people who experienced harassment actually reported it to their employer or engager.
• Of those who did report, just 12% were satisfied with the response; 42% said the response was insufficient.
• One major barrier is lack of clarity or awareness of reporting processes: only ~49% of full-time employees and 46% of freelancers said their contract included information on how to report misconduct.
• The survey also emphasises the structural precarity of the sector: many workers; especially freelancers and early-career professionals, fear losing work or being penalised if they “rock the boat.”

In short: the creative industries are still struggling with deeply rooted patterns of bad behaviour, underreporting, and inadequate responses. Though initiatives like CIISA (the Creative Industries Independent Standards Authority) are steps in the right direction, systemic change requires cultural transformation - and that is where technology can play a meaningful role.

Why “report in the moment” technology matters

One of the fundamental shortcomings in many current systems is that reporting is often retrospective, cumbersome, or disconnected from the moment when misconduct occurs. Hotlines, HR inboxes, or formal email procedures may feel too formal, slow, intimidating, or removed from the reality of the person experiencing harm.

Technology that allows “report in the moment” - meaning the ability to capture and file a concern immediately (or soon after) with minimal friction - can address several of those shortcomings:

1. Lower friction and barriers to reporting
   If someone is able to tap a simple app or interface to report what’s happening, rather than having to find an obscure form or wait until an HR office is reachable, they are more likely to act while memories are fresh, and less likely to suppress or second-guess the decision.
2. Granular, contextual data
   When a report is filed close to the moment of the incident, it can include time stamps, location metadata (if relevant and permitted), brief notes, optional anonymity, and even attachments (photos, audio notes) if safe. That richer context helps investigators respond more appropriately.
3. Enables early intervention
   Problems often escalate when unchallenged. A timely report gives organisations a chance to respond early; de-escalate, offer support, get independent fact gathering started, rather than letting issues fester until a crisis blows up.
4. Signals trust and responsiveness
   A culture that embraces in-moment reporting signals to staff: “If something is wrong, we want to hear it, and we will respond.” Over time, that can shift harmful norms of silence, fear or complicity.
5. Aggregated insights and preventive action
   A well-designed system can anonymise and aggregate reported data to reveal patterns: hotspots of incidents, repeat reporters or perpetrators, time-of-day trends, teams or locations with elevated risk. These insights help leadership plan training, adjust policy, resource oversight, or structural fixes.
6. Safeguards for confidentiality and fairness
   Modern tools can offer options for anonymous reporting, controlled escalation paths, automated acknowledgments, and transparent case tracking (without revealing sensitive personal data). This builds trust without compromising due process.

It is essential that such technology is easy to use - intuitive, mobile friendly (or cross-platform), lightweight, and with minimal “reporting fatigue.” If the reporting system itself feels burdensome or bureaucratic, it undermines its own purpose.

How a platform like Continual can support — without being heavyhanded

At Continual, we believe in the principle that technology should enable better behaviour, not replace the human, empathetic work of culture, leadership, and accountability. Here is how a tool like Continual can help, without turning into a “Big Brother”:

• A lightweight “raise concern now” interface (e.g. via desktop widget or mobile) means users can submit a concern immediately, or later with optional reminders.
• Anonymous or named reporting options (configurable by organisation) respect that some people may feel unsafe naming themselves, especially in power-imbalanced environments.
• Structured workflows ensure that reports are triaged, escalated to the right responsible individuals, and tracked (with stages visible to the reporter where appropriate) for accountability and transparency.
• Dashboard and analytics help leadership see macro trends (while preserving confidentiality) and monitor responsiveness (e.g. time to respond, resolution rates).
• Audit trails and documentation foster trust that each case is handled with care, with documentation for compliance, legal, or HR needs.
• Integration with support resources (e.g. links to counselling, policy documents, external ombuds or union advice) ensures reporters are not left isolated.

Importantly: the goal is not to replace HR or legal, but to supplement them - to make the path to raising a concern more accessible, structured, safe, and data-informed.

Towards safer, fairer creative workplaces

Returning to BECTU’s survey: low reporting rates, dissatisfaction with responses, and fear of consequences are deeply intertwined. Without better pathways to speak up, many harmful behaviours will remain invisible, unchallenged, and reinforced by silence.

Technology cannot by itself transform culture - leadership, training, clear policy, and accountability matter critically. But technology can be a central enabler:

• It helps shift from episodic, ad hoc responses to continuous listening and improvement.
• It embeds the expectation that concerns belong in real time, not tucked away till “after the fact.”
• It empowers HR, diversity & inclusion, or compliance teams with usable data to drive prevention.
• It increases transparency and trust by showing employees their voices are heard and acted on.

In the context of the creative industries, where many workers are freelancers, remote, project-based, or moving across different employers, the need for portable, simple reporting mechanisms is especially acute. A platform like Continual can offer continuity across projects, so that even in a transient workforce you maintain a consistent scaffold for raising issues.

By lowering the bar to report, capturing timely data, enabling responsive workflows, and surfacing actionable insights, technology helps connect the dots - and helps prevent harmful patterns from becoming entrenched.

In closing: BECTU’s survey is a stark reminder that the creative industries have systemic challenges to tackle. But by embracing modern, people-centred tools that prioritise immediacy, ease, and trust, the sector can begin to build better pathways for accountability, protection and voice. A safer, fairer industry is not just more ethical, it’s more sustainable: retaining talent, improving wellbeing, reducing reputational risk, and attracting people who want to create without fear.

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