Ethics vs Work Ethics

If your friend is working with you in the same organization, he might have called you one day and asked for a favor. “I will be late today, please punch my card for me”. 

Many of us has encountered this situation one way or another, it may not be the exact same scenario but something very close. 

The strange observation experts found is that when you expose different people to the same exact scenario, people will act differently. Some will help their friends no questions asked. While others will hesitate and look for other options. 

Why does this phenomenon happen? The answer is simple: Ethics.   

In order to understand ethics and how it affects behavior, we need first to explore the definition of ethics. The Oxford English dictionary defines ethics as: “The moral principles governing or influencing conduct.”

What does that mean? It means that ethics are the way we behave and take decision based on our own principles and our own sense of right and wrong. 

But people cannot have the same principles, they cannot have the same sense of right and wrong; because they come from different cultures, religions, nationalities and education. Which means ultimately different people will have different ethics. 

Now, if we look at the scenario of the friend asking for a favor. People will act differently based on their own ethics, based on their own values and beliefs. For example, a person who values friendship the most will “punch the card” believing it is the right thing to do. While another who values honesty the most, will consider this act as cheating and lying, and hence he will not help his/her friend. 

Then how can -today’s highly diversified- organizations enforce the same ethical action from their different employees?

The key is to distinguish between Ethics in general and Work Ethics. 

The standards and the values of the organization needs to be clear to the employees before they join the organization. They need to understand that they need to adapt their ethics to meet the organizations standards and values. They need to receive a clear message “these are our values, and you need to follow them for anything related to our organization”. 

It may sound easy, achievable, but it is never enough. You may send the message and make it clear, but you cannot ensure that the employees will follow.  

That is why organization spends money and effort to enforce work ethics on their employees, putting procedures and rules to minimize - or even eliminate - the decision-making opportunities for their employees. 

Again, this is never enough, because employees have their ways for breaking the rules. That is why organizations updated their attendance record from a signature on a paper, to punching cards, to finger prints. 

Then what is the solution? 

The solution is never an easy one. It requires organization to “balance the scale” between the procedures and rules on one side, and freedom of choice on the other. Too much rules and your staff will find their way to break it. No rules at all and it will be a mess. 

Work ethics needs to be influenced rather than enforced.

And remember, good conduct is always contagious. 

(The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of this newspaper.)