By Arthur Schwartz – Guest Columnist
Jan 26,
2015, 6:45am EST
Each
day roughly 120 million people walk into a workplace somewhere in the United
States. Within the past year, almost half of these workers personally witnessed
some form of ethical misconduct, according to a recent survey conducted by the
Washington, D.C.-based Ethics Resource Center (ERC).
We are
not talking about workers being privy to the CFO committing fraud. More likely,
it's someone who lied to a supervisor or handed in a false expense report.
Listed below, according to the ERC study, are the five most frequently observed
unethical behaviors in the U.S. workplace.
1.
Misusing company time
Whether
it is covering for someone who shows up late or altering a time sheet, misusing
company time tops the list. This category includes knowing that one of your co-workers
is conducting personal business on company time. By "personal
business" the survey recognizes the difference between making cold calls
to advance your freelance business and calling your spouse to find out how your
sick child is doing.
2.
Abusive behavior
Too
many workplaces are filled with managers and supervisors who use their position
and power to mistreat or disrespect others. Unfortunately, unless the situation
you're in involves race, gender or ethnic origin, there is often no legal
protection against abusive behavior in the workplace. To learn more, check out
the Workplace Bullying Institute.
3.
Employee theft
According
to a recent study by Jack L. Hayes International, one out of every
40 employees in 2012 was caught stealing from their employer. Even more
startling is that these employees steal on average 5.5 times more than
shoplifters ($715 vs $129). Employee fraud is also on the uptick, whether its
check tampering, not recording sales in order to skim, or manipulating expense
reimbursements. Ethical alert: The FBI recently reported that employee theft is
the fasting growing crime in the U.S. today.
4.
Lying to employees
The
fastest way to lose the trust of your employees is to lie to them, yet
employers do it all the time. One of out every five employees report that their
manager or supervisor has lied to them within the past year.
5.
Violating company internet policies
Cyberslackers.
Cyberloafers. These are terms used to identify people who surf the Web when
they should be working. It's a huge, multi-billion-dollar problem for
companies. A survey conducted recently by Salary.com found that everyday at
least 64 percent of employees visit websites that have nothing to do with their
work. Who would have thought that checking your Facebook page is becoming an
ethical issue?
The
good news from the ERC study is that most American workers and employers do the
right thing. The survey reveals that most of us follow our company's ethical
standards of behavior, and we are willing to report wrongdoing when we see it
(unless it's the company's Internet use policy). But for those of us who track
ethical behavior in the workplace, there are some troublesome trends in the ERC
survey. The percentage of employees who experienced some form of retaliation
for reporting non-ethical behavior climbed from 15 percent to 22 percent.
Confidence in the ethics of senior leaders declined from 68 percent to 62
percent. When it comes to the ethical workplace, we may be on a downward shift.
What do
you think? Can companies do more to create an ethical culture that goes beyond
mere compliance? Email me with your own perspective.
Dr. Arthur J. Schwartz is
executive director of the Oskin Leadership Institute at Widener University. He
is widely-known for his research on the nature of courage and is editor of the
forthcoming book Developing Ethical Leaders. Are you facing
an ethical dilemma in the workplace and need sound, moral guidance? Email Dr.
Schwartz at aschwartz@widener.edu. Your situation may be featured in a future
installment of The Ethical Workplace. Your identity, and that of your employer,
will not be revealed in the column, and will be held in the strictest
confidence.
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