While it often goes undiscovered, this behavior puts too many businesses — and, unknowingly, their customers — at risk. Unethical behavior is not unique to a time or place and it happens in organizations of all types and across industries: The U. The Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, in collaboration with the Faas Foundation, conducted a national survey of more than 14, employees across industries to better understand how Americans experience work.
We asked how often workers experienced pressure to act unethically and to what extent they were afraid to speak up at work. We sorted their open-ended responses in several categories described below. The individual impact of these relatively less common experiences can be immense. Employees described ethically questionable actions that are either explicitly demanded e. These descriptions were often accompanied by a note about the root cause of the pressure: making the organization look better e.
When we asked about speaking up, four in five employees said they felt constrained in one way or another in voicing their view or speaking the truth. Forty percent said that they were often or almost always afraid of voicing any criticism in their organization.
Our research also shows that those people who feel afraid to speak up are also likely to be the ones who are under pressure to act unethically. Thirty-eight percent of people indicated that they did not know about any organizational policies to deal with such reports. Our research results point to the need to alleviate the pressure to act unethically and prevent the fear of speaking up.
These are inherently emotional issues — and to address them, emotional skills are needed. So what can managers and organizations do? First, they should cultivate emotional intelligence skills in managers and leaders. These skills can be either selected for in the recruitment process or built through leadership development programs. Business ethics are so important that most companies have formal codes of ethics to make their expectations clear.
Some unethical behaviors in the workplace are illegal as well as unethical. Take a look at the different unethical behaviors one may see businesses commit. A chemical company dumps pollutants into the water supply rather than cleaning up the pollution properly.
A factory releases toxins into the air at levels above what is permitted by the Environmental Protection Agency. An employer coerces an injured worker not to report a work injury to workers' compensation by threatening him with the loss of a job or benefits.
A supervisor refuses to give an employee a final paycheck for hours worked before the employee left the company. A company incorrectly classifies an employee as an independent contractor in order to reduce payroll taxes and avoid providing benefits. Businesses use bait and switch or false advertising tactics to lure customers in or convince them to buy a product.
Doctors and lawyers are bound by a stricter code of ethics because they are taking care of and representing people who trust them. These professionals risk malpractice accusations if they act in an unethical manner. Read a sample list of unethical behaviors by these professionals. A physician doesn't tell a patient his true diagnosis because it may reveal that there was a mistake in his care. A dentist performs unnecessary procedures on a patient in order to receive the insurance payment.
A doctor uses a patient as a teaching tool for students for long periods of time without the permission of the patient or patient's family. You may also see examples of unethical behavior in the political world. Some politicians walk a fine line between getting elected and remaining ethical, and many governments struggle with upholding rights-based ethics for both their citizens and citizens in other countries.
A politician uses the Internal Revenue Service IRS to target groups that they do not like by auditing those groups or refusing to give them tax-exempt status. Someone running for office obtains private tax information about their political opponents and uses that information in a campaign. A person running for office knowingly tells lies about their own political position or about the political position of their opponent just to get elected.
To help combat this notion, managers should discuss their job performance expectations with employees and any specific challenges employees face meeting these goals. Businesses need to leverage and incorporate different elements to achieve a culture of compliance. This guide explores what it means to have a compliance culture, and how you can build up a compliance culture in your workplace.
For one, employees may fear retaliation from their coworker who they are reporting. The employee might also fear getting a bad reputation among his or her coworkers. To relieve their fears, consistently reassure your employees that retaliation for speaking up is against company policies. Encourage managers to communicate with their employees about potential violations. Many organizations make the mistake of assuming their employees understand which behaviors are unethical. Employees may not know an activity they see on a daily basis is unethical or illegal.
For example, a employee may not know that giving a potential client tickets to a sporting event could constitute a bribe. Moreover, training can also help employees determine what actions to take if they witness unethical behavior.
Employees also need to know how to report potential ethics violations. Having a policy in place helps keep the information from falling into the wrong hands. Also, some employees may wish to stay anonymous. An anonymous drop off or hotline for employees to call and report violations or suspicions can ensure you discover most violations.
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