1. What is Workplace Ethics?
Workplace ethics are the set of values, moral principles, and standards that need to be followed by both employers and
employees in the workplace. It is the set of rules and regulations that need to be followed by all staff of the workplace.
These ethics are implemented by employers to foster both employee-employee relationship and employee-customer
relationships. An organization may decide to put these ethics into writing or not—they are however meant to be
followed.
There exist some general workplace ethics that do not need to be defined by the employer, but are common ethical
behaviors employees need to exhibit. In the same vein, some organization-specific ethics may need to be defined in a
company handbook.
Examples of Ethical Behaviors in The Workplace
Examples of ethical behaviors in the workplace includes; obeying the company’s rules, effective communication, taking
responsibility, accountability, professionalism, trust and mutual respect for your colleagues at work. These examples of
ethical behaviors ensures maximum productivity output at work. And could be pivotal for career growth.
Obey The Company’s Rules & Regulation
At the start of an employee contract, companies may need the employee to sign various documents, including the
company rules and regulation agreement form. Also, the employee may be given a handbook that may serve as a guide.
Some common rules are tardiness, inappropriate dressing, and language, etc. Due to the excitement of getting a new
job, some employees do not properly read these rules and may end up deferring them in the future.
Therefore, it is important that new employees properly read these rules & regulations in other not to defer them.
Communicate Effectively
Effective communication is very important to avoid misunderstandings when dealing with issues in the workplace.
Communicating effectively may mean different things to people at different points in time.
Let us consider the hypothetical situation of an employee trying to relay information to a French-speaking customer. The
best way to communicate effectively with the customer is to have an employee who can speak French relay the
information.
Effective communication may also have an employee breaking one of the rules and regulations of the company without
getting penalized for it. An employee reaching out to HR that they will be coming in late due to some unforeseen
circumstances may be spared for coming late if the situation is properly communicated.
2. Develop Professional Relationships
Good professional relationships are not only a thing that fosters teamwork among employees, but also help with
individual career development for employees. Developing professional relationships with coworkers or other
professionals outside the workplace will also directly or indirectly improve productivity.
Professional relationships between low-level and high-level employees will make it easier for ideas to be shared and
knowledge to be passed to junior employees. That way, the company can confidently have an intern work on a tough
project to meet a pending deadline due to the guidance from older employees.
Salespeople, for one, need to build external professional relationships with professionals from other organizations—
especially those who are potential clients. These relationships will help create a contact person in another organization
in case they need to sell a product to them.
Take Responsibility
It is important for employees to always take responsibility for decisions made both individually and in a team. This is, in
fact, a leadership trait that every employee who is looking to take up a managerial position in the future should exhibit.
Be Accountable
Accountability is also a very good trait of an employee. One of the things that may short change a talented and
responsible is the lack of accountability.
Lack of accountability may result in your boss thinking you have an “I don’t care attitude” to the company’s project or
worst take you as a liar and may lead to job loss in the long run. For example, at the beginning of each year, a certain
amount of money is allocated to each department.
The manager is meant to oversee how this money is spent. If at the end of the year, the manager can not make an
account of how the money was spent, he may then be suspected of stealing company funds.
Uphold Trust
An employee should not do anything that may make his or her employee withdraw trust. As an employee of a company,
your employee trusts you to get work done perfectly on time.
Things like missing deadlines regularly or delivering work that needs to be revised over and over again will deny you a
promotion. It may even leave the employer not giving you tasks to complete in the future—a nightmare for freelancers.
Show Initiative without being told
Is the company running behind deadline and you feel you can stay a few extra hours after work to finish up? Do it.
You are a freelance designer and your client wants a particular poster designed but doesn’t have a copywriter to write
the content. If you can write the contents, do so. Don’t delay a client’s work because of a few contents.
Respect Your Colleagues
It doesn’t matter whether you are dealing with the intern, a junior, janitor, etc. they should all be treated with respect.
As a manager, treating your team members with respect will help improve their productivity.
Giving constructive criticism and saying kind words to them even when they are not able to deliver perfectly will help
them strive to do better in the future.
3. Work Smarter
Don’t just work hard, work smarter. The reason why you see an employee promoted to the post of manager after just 2
years and a hardworking employee who has been with the company for 10 years failed to get a promotion is smart
work.
Assume that these 2 employees are data scientists who collect data and analyze them. A smarter employee will use the
Form plus data collection tool to collect data and receive real-time data analytics, while a hard-working employee will
print paper-based forms and do the hard work of sharing it to respondents.
Unethical Workplace Behaviors
Lies
Lying is a trait that is detested in and outside the workplace. It kills trust, affects relationships and may even put people
in trouble.
There are different situations where employees lie in the workplace—with just one lie opening the floor for many
others. It could be a sales manager lying about the number of clients they were able to get in a month or an employee
calling in sick just to attend another job interview.
A lot of employees start lying from their CV, by adding experiences they didn’t acquire, and the skills they don’t have.
Employees need to understand that lying about work may eventually get them in trouble and needs to stop before they
lose their job.
However, we notice that employees lie due to fear of their employer—an employee will call in sick to go for interviews
because companies frown against employees interviewing at another company. HR should put up a friendlier culture
that will encourage people to progress in their careers taking up other jobs and even support them throughout the
process.
Taking Credit for Others Hard Work
It is very common for managers to take credit for their team member’s hard work when reporting to the management. A
team member may have brought an idea that helped the sales team improve their sales by 200%.
However, when giving a report, the manager doesn’t mention the team member’s name but claims the idea as his.
Employees need to reduce the use of “I”, but embrace the use of ” We”.
By taking credit for another person’s work, you will be denying the person a promotion, bonus or commendation for a
job well done. This will discourage the person from sharing ideas that will benefit the company in the future.
Verbal Harassment/Abuse
Employees need to stay away from using foul language on coworkers in and out of the workplace. This is very important
when dealing with customers.
Customers are known to get angry and may result in verbal abuse due to a bad product or service. They may even get
insult you when they are at fault.
As a customer care representative, salesperson or any other employee, it is beth important that you don’t use abusive
words on customers no matter how provoked.
4. violence
Similar to verbal harassment, employees should not be violent when dealing with coworkers and customers. Customers
may likely provoke you, but it is better to keep shut and walk away rather than turn violent.
Non-Office Related Work
A lot of employees have side hustles which they use to supplement salaries. This is very good and only very few
companies are against employees working to make money outside work hours.
However, some employees still do non-office related work during office hours. Employees who have side hustles should
try doing them on weekends or employing other people to handle some of the business logistics to avoid eating into
office hours to get the work done.
Extended Breaks
Companies give lunch breaks to employees and people take advantage of these breaks to do other things outside office
work like, go for interviews, meet with friends or even work on their side hustles. They are free to do whatever they
want these lunch breaks.
Employees, however, take advantage of these lunch breaks and extend them beyond time.
Theft/Embezzlement
Some employees are known for diverting company funds into their bank accounts—padding project quotations,
invoices, etc. to deceive the company on how much was spent on particular projects.
This act is detrimental to the company because employees who steal sometimes replace quality products with
counterfeits which are cheaper but causes damage in the future.
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is an offense that is not limited to the workplace alone. An employee accused of sexual harassment
will not only face consequences in the workplace but also tried at a court of law.
Many companies have a zero-tolerance rate for sexual harassment in and outside the workplace. This may tarnish the
company’s reputation and the only way to curb is to make an example of defaulters.
Corrupt Practices
Some common causes of corruption can be seen during the employment process of an organization. They invite so many
people to send their CVs and come for interviews but only people with the same political affiliation with them get the
job.
This is also common with companies that ask for contractors to bid for a project but the employees will only give them
to their friends who may not even bid at all.
Management/Employers Unethical Behaviors
Workplace ethics is not for employees alone. Employers are also bound to workplace ethics and may also be tried for
unethical behavior.
Sex for Job/Promotion
It is common for managers, employers and major decision-makers to use their position in the workplace to influence the
hiring decision in exchange for sex.
Late Night Out/Unpaid Overtime
5. Some employers take advantage of desperate job seekers and the competitive job market to use employees’ leisure
time as they wish. They do so with the mentality that they are doing employees a favor by employing them, not knowing
that the favor is mutual.
Employees who are scared of queries or job loss are not able to protest the infringement into their private time by the
employer.
Verbal Harassment
It is common among employers to verbally harass employees when they make little mistakes. This will reduce employee
morale and productivity.
Employers should always say kind words to their employees.
Undue Pressure
Deadlines are a great way to make sure the work gets done on time. However, when employees are placed under undue
pressure, they end up trading quality for on-time delivery.
An example of undue pressure will be giving an employee a 1-day deadline for a project that would normally take a
week.
Nepotism
This is a common type of corruption that happens in the workplace. An employee who has been working hard for years
while influencing company growth may get sidelined for a promotion because of another employee who is a family
friend, family, or friend of the employer. Things like this are what reduce employee morale or even push talented
employees to dropping a resignation.
Unfriendly Work Environment
One of the things that can mar productivity is an unfriendly working environment. This may come as a combination of
abusive bosses, lack of commendation, nepotism, etc. An unfriendly environment is an environment that combines
various unethical behaviors into one.
Unrealistic Expectations
Creatives usually have it worse when it comes to having unrealistic expectations from employees.
Advantages and Implications of Workplace Ethics
1. It can stimulate positive employee behavior and create a positive ambiance in the workplace
2. Ensures management guides and mentors their employees in a healthy environment
3. A workplace with good ethics usually strengthens the bond employees have with their superior
4. It boosts productivity through employee performance and job satisfaction which in turn increases company
growth.
5. Bad workplace ethics can cause a strain in the relationship with company stakeholders
6. When it leaks (which it most likely will) poor behavior can be recorded and propelled into unsavory headlines
online. This can lead to reputational damage to the brand name.
How to Solve Unethical Issues at the Workplace
1. Have Rules
6. Organizations need to have predefined rules and regulations regarding workplace ethics. These rules and regulations
should be given to new employees together with their employment contracts.
Also having the rules written at strategic places at the workplace will also help remind people about the rules. People
tend to unconsciously imbibe things they see every day.
2. Accept Feedback/Complaint
Make it easy for employees to send feedback or complaint in case of harassment, abuse, or any other unethical activities
going on in the workplace.
3. List Consequences for Unethical Behaviors
Consequences for unethical behaviors should also be placed alongside the rules at strategic places in the organization.
That way, if anyone wants to ignore the rules despite seeing them, the fear of getting punished will stop him or her from
going ahead.
4. Swift Justice/Disciplinary Action
Some Companies often cover up issues of rape, sexual harassment, etc. when the perpetrator is a high-ranking member
of the organization. Things like this should not be accommodated.
Differences between personal and professional ethics
There are a few key differences between personal and professional ethics. The primary difference is that a personal set
of ethics refers to an individual’s beliefs and values in any area of life, while professional ethics refers to a person’s
values within the workplace.
An example of a personal code of ethics is as follows: A person chooses to return a wallet that they found on the ground
to lost and found rather than keep it for themselves due to their personal ethic of honesty. In the workplace, an example
of professional ethics would be the same person returns a wallet to their coworker due to a code of conduct rule of no
stealing.
Some people differentiate personal and professional ethics by viewing a personal ethical system as a personal moral
code or a person’s conscience, while professional ethics are viewed as a set code of conduct that must be adhered to in
the workplace.
Examples of personal ethics
The following are examples of a few of the most common personal ethics shared by many professionals:
Honesty
Many people view honesty as an important ethic. This ethic transfers from an individual’s personal life into their
professional life and ensures they are truthful in all scenarios.
Loyalty
Loyalty is another common personal ethic that many professionals share. People who have a personal ethic of loyalty
demonstrate trustworthiness and fidelity in all of their dealings and can be trusted by others to maintain their loyal
behavior no matter the situation.
Integrity
Integrity refers to a person’s commitment to upholding their moral principles in any situation and is an important
component of trustworthy and sound relationships both in and out of the workplace. People with integrity are reliable,
responsible, and hold themselves accountable for their actions.
7. Respect
People with sound personal ethics demonstrate respect for those around them both at work and in their personal lives.
They respect others’ autonomy, rights, and interests, and do not discriminate based on someone’s religion, sex, or race.
Selflessness
People who are selfless put others first and do not act in selfish or self-serving ways. They consider the needs and
situations of others and prioritize these needs before their own.
Responsibility
Someone with a strong moral code is willing to take responsibility for their actions and make changes or amends when
necessary.
How to identify your personal ethics
The following are steps you can take to identify your unique personal ethical beliefs so you can improve upon them and
demonstrate them in your daily life:
1. Get clear on your priorities. Knowing what means the most to you can help you determine your personal set of
ethics. For example, if you regularly put others first, you likely have a personal ethic of selflessness. Make a list
of your personal priorities in life and see if you can connect each priority with a unique ethic.
2. Write down your goals. Having a concrete idea of your personal and professional goals will help you establish
your unique ethics. For example, if your goal is to maintain honesty and integrity in everything you do, these are
likely two of your personal ethics.
3. Consider your practices and beliefs. What you believe in and the things you practice will shed light on your
unique ethics. For example, if you believe that one should be willing to take responsibility for their actions no
matter the situation, you likely have responsibility as a personal ethic.
Morality is the belief that some behaviour is right and acceptable and that other behaviour is wrong.
mo·ral·i·ty
principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.
8. Ethics and morals relate to “right” and “wrong” conduct. While they are sometimes used interchangeably, they are
different: ethics refer to rules provided by an external source, e.g., codes of conduct in workplaces or principles in
religions. Morals refer to an individual’s own principles regarding right and wrong.
Comparison chart
Ethics versus Morals comparison chart
Ethics Morals
What are
they?
The rules of conduct recognized in respect to a
particular class of human actions or a particular
group or culture.
Principles or habits with respect to
right or wrong conduct. While morals
also prescribe dos and don'ts, morality
is ultimately a personal compass of
right and wrong.
Where do
they come
from?
Social system - External Individual - Internal
Why we do
it?
Because society says it is the right thing to do. Because we believe in something being
right or wrong.
Flexibility Ethics are dependent on others for definition.
They tend to be consistent within a certain
context, but can vary between contexts.
Usually consistent, although can
change if an individual’s beliefs
change.
The "Gray" A person strictly following Ethical Principles may
not have any Morals at all. Likewise, one could
violate Ethical Principles within a given system of
rules in order to maintain Moral integrity.
A Moral Person although perhaps
bound by a higher covenant, may
choose to follow a code of ethics as it
would apply to a system. "Make it fit"
Origin Greek word "ethos" meaning"character" Latin word "mos" meaning "custom"
Acceptability Ethics are governed by professional and legal
guidelines within a particular time and place
Morality transcends cultural norms
9. Values
Values are individual beliefs that motivate people to act one way or another. They serve as a guide for
human behavior.
Generally, people are predisposed to adopt the values that they are raised with. People also tend to
believe that those values are “right” because they are the values of their particular culture.
Ethical decision-making often involves weighing values against each other and choosing which values to
elevate. Conflicts can result when people have different values, leading to a clash of preferences and
priorities.
Some values have intrinsic worth, such as love, truth, and freedom. Other values, such as ambition,
responsibility, and courage, describe traits or behaviors that are instrumental as means to an end.
Still other values are considered sacred and are moral imperatives for those who believe in them. Sacred
values will seldom be compromised because they are perceived as duties rather than as factors to be
weighed in decision-making. For example, for some people, their nation’s flag may represent a sacred
value. But for others, the flag may just be a piece of cloth.
So, whether values are sacred, have intrinsic worth, or are a means to an end, values vary among
individuals and across cultures and time. However values are universally recognized as a driving force in
ethical decision-making.
Loyalty.
Spirituality.
Humility.
Compassion.
Honesty.
Kindness.
Integrity.
Selflessnes
Morals vs Values
Morals and values are a part of the behavioral aspect of a person. There is not much difference between morals and
values but both are correlated to each other. Morals are formed from the inborn values. Moral is a system of beliefs that
is taught for deciding good or bad whereas values are personal beliefs or something that comes from within. These are
emotionally related for deciding right or wrong. Morals have more social value and acceptance than values, therefore a
person is judged more for his moral character than the values. One is said to be immoral for a person without morals but
no such term is there for the person without values.
10. Another difference between the morals and values is that moral is a motivation or a key for leading a good life in right
direction whereas value is imbibed within a person, it can be bad or good depending on the person’s choice. It can also
be called as intuition or the call of the heart. Morals do not determine the values but are formed because of the values.
Morals contribute to the system of beliefs and are the values which we get from the society.
Morals can be related to ones religion, political system or a business society. Business morals include prompt service,
excellence, quality and safety. One practices all the morals while running a business, but the values may not coincide
with them. Therefore these morals do not come from within a person but are taught by the social group and has to be
followed. On the other hand values are the standards to judge the right or wrong, good or bad, just or unjust. They are
the fundamental principles that give guidance to a person to evaluate the merits and demerits of a thing. Values include
courage, respect, patriotism, honesty, honor, compassion etc. All these are not mandatory by society but depend on
individual’s choice.
Sample: you value saving so if you see beggars on the street you don’t even give them a peso because you believe that
you need to save and giving will just be a hindrance to that values. But is not sharing your grace with beggars is moraly
good?
MORAL ISSUE:
•Moral issues are those which involve a difference of belief and not a matter of preference.
MORAL JUDGEMENTS:
•Moral judgments typically are made by an observer judging an act by another, usually hypothetical, person.
MORAL DECISION:
•A moral decision is a choice made based on a person's ethics, manners, character and what they believe is proper
behavior.
MORAL DILEMMAS:
•Moral dilemmas are situations in which the decision-maker must consider two or more moral values or duties but can
only honor one of them; thus, the individual will violate at least one important moral concern, regardless of the decision.
ETHICAL REASONING
The current description of this key capability is that ethical reasoning is “The ability to reflect on moral issues in the
abstract and in historical narratives within particular traditions. Ethical reasoning is the ability to identify, assess, and
develop ethical arguments from a variety of ethical positions.” For the purposes of this application, it may be useful to
think of an ethical reasoning course as one that integrates ethical questions into the intellectual work required in the
course. Ethical questions concern judgments of right and wrong, good and bad, as well as matters of justice, fairness,
virtue, and social responsibility. Generally, at least one-third of the course should be devoted to exploring the range of
normative issues associated with the central topic of the course. It should be part of the plan of the course to move
students beyond the standard "that's a matter of opinion" response to normative questions and a discussion of various
frameworks for thinking systematically about ethical issues.
11. SOURCES OF AUTHORITY
LAW It is supposed that law is one's guide to ethical behavior. In the Philippines, Filipinos are constrained to obey the
laws of the land as stated in the country's criminal and civil codes Making this even more particular, in Cebu,
residents are constrained to follow any provincial laws or city ordinances.
“ the law cannot tell, us what to pursue, only what to avoid.”
RELIGION "Love the Lord, Your God, therefore, and always heed his charge his statutes, decrees, and
commandments. (New American Bible) This verse is the first line of Chapter 11 of the book of Deuteronomy. It
expresses a claim that many people of a religious sensibility find appealing and immediately valid: the idea that
one is obliged to obey her God in all things. As a foundation for ethical values, this is referred to as the divine
command theory. The divinity called God, Allah, or Supreme Being commands and one is obliged to obey her Creator.
There are persons and texts that one believes are linked to the Divine. By listening to these figures and reading
these writings. an individual discovers how the Divine wants her to act. Further someone maintaining a more radical
form of this theory might go beyond these instruments of divine revelation and claim that God "spoke to her directly to
instruct her what to do.
CULTURE Our exposure to different societies and their cultures makes us aware that there are ways of thinking and
valuing that are different from our own, that there is in fact a wide diversity of how different people believe it is
proper to act. There are aesthetic differences Japanese art vs. Indian art), religious differences (Buddhism vs.
Christianity), and etiquette differences (conflicting behaviors regarding dining practices). In these bases, it may
become easy to conclude that this is the case in ethics as well. There are also various examples that seem to bear
these out: nudity can be more taboo in one culture than in another.
Cultural relativism refers to what is acceptable and unacceptable is relative to or dependent on one’s culture.
