Ethics in Workplacde

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Ethics in the workplace can work for you in basically two ways. They can either be your best friend or your worst enemy. (Employee Motivation Skills, 2009) Organizations that have a well defined ethics policy that is followed closely will have better morale. Organizations that don’t will have all kinds of personnel issues and high turnover. Ethics is the glue that holds organizations together. (Employee Motivation Skills, 2009)
Ethics is a fundamental business term because it can and does apply to all workplaces. Regardless of the organizational function, employees who fail to maintain an ethical standard in their workplace can raise the possibility of not only organizational corruption but also legal liabilities. (Employee Motivation Skills, 2009) In any role, it is vital that employees conduct themselves in accordance with both workplace policies, as well as any state and federal laws.
So how can we encourage ethical behavior in the workplace? It can be broken down into a couple of steps that can help promote ethical behavior in the workplace. First is Own Up. The saying “bad news does not grow better with age” is true. But what makes a problem or bad situation worse is when employees that are responsible for a mistake fail to raise the issue to management so that it can be fixed. (Nickels, 2009) Often times problems get bigger and can snowball out of hand quickly. With this being said, situations can get worse when employees cast blame against each other. The best thing for an employee to do when they make a mistake is tell their supervisor or manager and take responsibility. This will help cut of the blame game. In addition to the ability to being able to conduct damage control, employees who own up to their mistakes will more likely be seen as dependable and trustworthy. (Nickels, 2010) Supervisors know that if an employee voluntarily steps forward to admit their own mistake they will be less likely to cover something up.

Another step is to Go by the Book or Policies. Another misstep that employees commonly take is attempting to “fix” a problem by bending the rules. (Nickels, 2010) In doing so, they generate a whole new list of problems. Employee doing things such as backdating documents or reports might work at the time. But when the falsification is found out, it will create a whole list of problems. Again, it’s better to own up to a problem and possibly only be seen as incompetent for making such a mistake, than cover up a problem be seen as having no ethical framework, regardless of the outcome. Employees, despite good intentions, become too engrossed in the idea of “getting something done” and forget that “I can’t” isn’t necessarily a bad statement to make once in a while. (Nickels, 2009) Workplace behavior ethics are something that can be applied to any job description, any industry, and any organizational environment. The signs of an ethical workplace are a workforce that has high morale and solid communication in both directions of the chain of command. (Nickels, 2009) To ensure a moral workplace, it’s important not only to conduct oneself in an ethical manner, but also to not turn a blind eye to any type of impropriety by a fellow co-worker. It is important that organizations focus on ethical behavior in the workplace to make sure that they are not only being complaint for the state and federal regulations, but as well being fair to its employees.
References:
Employee Motivation Skills. (2009, 2012). Ethics in the workplace can solve employee motivation issues. Retrieved from http://www.employee-motivation-skills.com/ethics-in-the-workplace.html

Nickels, D. (2010). Workplace behavior ethics. Retrieved from http://blogs.payscale.com/compensation/2010/04/workplace-behavior-ethics.html

References: Employee Motivation Skills. (2009, 2012). Ethics in the workplace can solve employee motivation issues. Retrieved from http://www.employee-motivation-skills.com/ethics-in-the-workplace.html Nickels, D. (2010). Workplace behavior ethics. Retrieved from http://blogs.payscale.com/compensation/2010/04/workplace-behavior-ethics.html