Myths of Business Ethics
April 3, 2025
Practically business ethics at the workplace connotes an alignment between what the organization values and how to go about it. It means that the all the day to day operations or activities carried out by employees are in tandem with the organizational policies without any deviations. There are however lots of myths that surround business…
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Let us go through some workplace ethics: Rules and regulations ought to be same for everyone. Everyone needs to attend office on time irrespective of their designation, distance of their home from the workplace, salary or status. An individual cannot come to office late just because he is the team leader and his team is…
Workplace ethics ensures employees are treated with utmost respect. It also leads to a sense of satisfaction among employees and they develop a feeling of attachment towards their respective organizations. The feeling of loyalty is a feeling which is seen in very few individuals. For them, going to work is the best source of earning money and also keeping one-selves occupied.
Organizations often complain of employees moving on when they are fully trained. An organization invests its time, money and energy in training a new employee and thus it is a big blow when he/she quits all of a sudden.
The best way to promote workplace ethics is to be very specific and careful while recruiting potential employees who would be representing the top levels especially the human resource department. It is rightly said that human resource professionals are the face of an organization. They need to understand the psychology of individuals well as they are the ones who have the responsibility of formulating policies, rules and regulations of the organization.
Remember, policies should neither be too flexible nor too rigid. If policies are too flexible, no one actually follows them and if policies are too rigid, again employees would depend on excuses and lies to escape them. You must understand your nature of business. An organization which works primarily for US Clients can’t ask employees to report early in the morning as I am sure employees must be working till late or probably the whole night.
Human resource professionals ought to communicate the organization policies and code of conduct clearly to the employees the very first day. Also send them a mail for their ready reference.
Tell them very clearly the office timings, hierarchy, dress code, salary structure, leave procedure, reporting structure and so on. In this case, they would never have an excuse later. Tell them from the very beginning that there are certain things which are expected out of them and organization is very strict on certain policies like coming to office on time, informed leaves etc.
Make them clear that if they are caught bunking office or participating in unfair practices like stealing, passing on confidential information, they would be shown the exit door the very next day. Trust me, no one would even think of doing the same. Problems arise when employees are not aware of rules and regulations. Transparency between management and employees is of utmost importance and the best way to promote workplace ethics.
Listen to what your employees have to say. Let them come out with their problems. Superiors need to interact with employees on a regular basis and address their grievances.
Management needs to make employees feel comfortable. They might come up with lots of issues and as a boss it is your responsibility to guide them and help them with a solution. Even if the problem is illogical, do not be harsh to them. Make them realize as to where they are wrong. Open communication is the best way to promote workplace ethics. Constant mentoring plays an important role in motivating the employees to adhere to the organization policies.
No employee should be given special treatments. Bonuses and hikes must be proportional to the employee’s performance over a period of time. Appreciating the employee who really deserves is essential. Do not favour anyone just because you like him/her.Fair judgement is of utmost importance. You have nothing to do with his/her personal life. There should be absolutely no problem if an employee goes out to meet his girlfriend after office hours.
Organization needs to support its employees always, even at the hours of crisis. Job security and constant career growth are two most important factors which ensure employees stick around for a long time and also are satisfied with their current assignment. If employees are happy and contended and feel respected, they would also strive hard to deliver their level best everytime.
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