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Employees judge wellbeing and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) commitments by what leaders and managers do—not by policy wording alone. A 2026 Nottingham Business School survey of more than 1,170 people in medium and large UK organisations found substantial gaps between stated commitments and employees’ everyday experience, with wellbeing showing the largest mismatch.
What the Nottingham study found
The study, reported in Employee Relations: The International Journal as “HR whitewashing: employee perceptions of policy-practice alignment in UK organisations” (2026, DOI 10.1108/er-01-2026-0016), asked employees whether organisational values, wellbeing policies and DEI policies matched daily behaviour. It also examined whether leaders’ conduct and hiring and promotion decisions reflected the values employers promoted.
Respondents worked in sectors including healthcare, education, finance and public services. The results measure employee perceptions, not an audit of every employer or a census of all UK workers.
| Issue tested | Employees reporting a mismatch | What the figure means |
|---|---|---|
| Wellbeing policy versus everyday behaviour | 53% | Reported either a strong contrast or some inconsistency. |
| DEI policy versus everyday behaviour | About 44% | Perceived inconsistencies between the written policy and daily experience. |
| Promoted values versus organisational culture | 19% | Felt the culture did not align with values promoted internally or externally. |
The release does not state the survey’s full sampling frame, field dates, response rate or detailed subgroup results. Those limitations mean the percentages should be read as findings from this surveyed group rather than universal UK workforce estimates.
Why wellbeing produced the largest credibility gap
Wellbeing messages can lose credibility when the conditions of work point in the opposite direction. Employees may hear about support, resilience or work-life balance while dealing with excessive workloads, insufficient staffing or managers who reward constant availability. In the survey, 53% perceived some degree of contradiction or inconsistency between wellbeing policy and everyday behaviour.
Professor Zara Whysall, Professor of Business Psychology, said the findings do not necessarily show deliberate deception. Instead, employees can experience a disconnect—for example, receiving wellbeing communications while struggling with an excessive workload. A policy can be revised quickly; changing culture requires consistent action by managers and leaders over time.
What makes a wellbeing promise believable
- Managers plan workloads realistically and act when demand becomes unsustainable.
- Employees can take leave, breaks and reasonable working hours without an informal penalty.
- Leaders use staffing, deadlines and performance expectations that match the wellbeing message.
- People who raise workload or health concerns receive practical responses rather than only campaign materials.
Why DEI statements are tested by people decisions
About 44% of respondents saw inconsistencies between DEI policies and daily behaviour. Employees therefore look beyond statements and training to how an organisation handles exclusionary conduct and allocates opportunities.
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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Promotion and recruitment decisions are especially visible credibility signals. A company may publicly celebrate inclusion, yet employees may doubt the commitment if advancement appears unequal, selection criteria are opaque or complaints about exclusion are not addressed. The survey did not establish that every organisation with a perceived gap intentionally misled employees; it records how policies and behaviour were experienced.
Practical DEI checks for employees and employers
- Are recruitment criteria, interview processes and promotion standards clear and consistently applied?
- Do leaders respond to exclusionary behaviour, including when the person involved is high-performing or senior?
- Do promotion outcomes and access to development opportunities match the organisation’s stated commitments?
- Can employees raise concerns safely, and can they see what changed afterward?
Leaders are the daily proof of a policy
The strongest trust signals identified in the announcement were leaders’ behaviour, recruitment decisions and promotion practices. This shifts the test from “Does the organisation have a policy?” to “What happens when the policy conflicts with operational pressure?”
Professor Nadia K. Kougiannou, Professor of Work and Employment Relations, said a wellbeing or DEI policy has limited credibility when workplace practices contradict it. She argued that managers and senior leaders should be assessed on how they manage workloads, address exclusionary behaviour and make recruitment and promotion decisions.
Symbolic communication versus leader modelling
| Credibility question | Symbolic approach | Behavioural test |
|---|---|---|
| Wellbeing | Campaigns, messages and policy documents | Workload planning, staffing and managers’ responses to concerns |
| DEI | Public statements and awareness events | Responses to exclusion and equitable recruitment and promotion |
| Values | Values displayed internally or externally | Leaders applying those values when making difficult operational decisions |
How to assess an employer’s promise
- Read the commitment. Identify the specific behaviour the organisation promises, rather than relying on broad words such as “inclusive” or “people-first.”
- Observe routine decisions. Compare the statement with workload allocation, scheduling, flexibility, feedback and access to development.
- Check people processes. Look for consistency in recruitment, performance assessment and promotion—not just the existence of a policy.
- Watch the response to conflict. A commitment is most informative when deadlines, budgets or senior relationships make action inconvenient.
- Look for accountability. Credible programmes define who is responsible, what is measured and what happens when standards are missed.
For organisations, this same sequence can become an internal review: compare policy wording with observed behaviour, workload management, responses to exclusion and promotion outcomes, then assign leaders responsibility for closing specific gaps. Measurement should include employee feedback as well as operational evidence, because the study concerns the experience employees actually have.
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What the findings do—and do not—show
The survey shows that written commitments are not automatically trusted. It does not prove that all employers with inconsistencies intended to mislead staff, nor does it establish that the reported percentages apply to every worker, organisation size or country. Its sample was employees in medium and large UK organisations, across several sectors, and the reported results are perception-based.
Even with those qualifications, the pattern gives employees and leaders a practical diagnostic. If a wellbeing or DEI promise is credible, everyday management and people decisions should make the commitment visible. If employees repeatedly encounter opposite incentives, the policy may remain formally valid while losing practical authority.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is “HR whitewashing” in this study?
The term describes concern that an organisation’s public or written HR commitments are not matched by corresponding behaviour or structural change. The study uses it to examine perceived policy-practice alignment, not to claim that every mismatch is deliberate.
Can these percentages be applied to all UK employees?
No. They come from a survey of more than 1,170 employees in medium and large UK organisations. The release does not provide a full sampling frame, field dates, response rate or detailed subgroup tables.
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