New research has uncovered that as many as four fifths of Britons have experienced unwanted sexual attention in the workplace.

According to the poll, catering & hospitality, retail and construction workers are the most likely to suffer from these advances.

The team at www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk conducted the research as part of an ongoing study into Britons’ experiences in the workplace. For the purposes of the study, 2,365 Britons aged 18 and over, all of whom stated that they were in full-time employment, were quizzed on their experiences in the workplace, with a particular focus on unwanted attention.

Initially, all respondents were asked ‘Have you ever received any unwanted sexual attention in the workplace?’ to which 79% confessed that ‘yes’ they have. When asked to state who the unwanted attention had been from, the majority confessed it was ‘customers and passers-by’ (78%), while others experienced it from colleagues (15%) and management (7%).

In a bid to determine which industries this was most prevalent in, all those who had experienced attention of this sort were asked to state what sector they worked in at the time of receiving the attention. Once all responses were collected, the top industries were revealed as:

14% - Catering and hospitality

13% - Retail

12% - Construction

12% - Entertainment

10% - Energy and utilities

8% - Law enforcement

6% - Teaching

5% - Marketing

4% - Healthcare

3% - Finance

When asked how they dealt with the situation, the majority chose to ‘ignore it and carry on’ (68%), while just one fifth chose to ‘file a complaint’ (19%). Just 5% confessed that they confronted the individual over the matter directly.

George Charles, spokesperson for www.VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, said: “Getting unwanted attention of any kind, sexual or not, can make people feel very uncomfortable. For many, they know how they’d react outside of the workplace, but in the workplace they’re worried about causing a scene or losing their job.

“We’d advise anyone to report the comments to their boss, or someone in a management position. We spend so much of our lives at work, we have a right to feel safe.”