Cutting corners, lying about sick days--many American workers have
done something unethical at work this year, according to a survey
sponsored by the Ethics Officer Association. Meanwhile, in another study,
47 percent of top executives and 76 percent of MBA students were willing
to "fudge" figures in order to make company profits appear larger, when
placed in the role of a time-pressured, bottomline conscious
executive.
These studies show that workplace dishonesty has reached epidemic
proportions, insists Lance Secretan, a consultant and author of
Reclaiming Higher Ground: Creating Organizations that Inspire the Soul
(McGraw-Hill).
"Ethics violations often stem from increased pressure on management
to perform," adds Arthur Brief, Ph.D., the Tulane organizational
psychologist who led the second study. "There is also the sense that
what's right at home and church is different from what's right in the
workplace."
The core problem is a crisis in moral leadership, in Secretan's
view. "Society's greatest institutions, from religious bodies, to
government, to business, are not giving us beacons to follow." The best
answer to this problem? "Create an organization where people are
encouraged and rewarded for questioning orders they receive," Brief says.
Even if your employer does not address the issue, Secretan believes
grassroots change is possible. "If you start telling the truth, keeping
your promises, living with integrity in your work, you can create change
from the inside out."
Tags:
company profits,
core problem,
cutting corners,
epidemic proportions,
ethic,
ethics officer association,
ethics violations,
higher ground,
integrity,
leadership,
lying,
management,
mba students,
mcgraw hill,
moral leadership,
organizational psychologist,
promises,
religious bodies,
right at home,
sick days,
telling the truth,
top executives,
tulane,
work,
workplace dishonesty
