How To Promote Ethics In The Workplace

Workplace ethics are a set of rules and regulations that need to be followed by every member of the staff irrespective of their position in the company. When these ethics are followed, there is a natural growth in the sector as well as the company, bringing overall growth to its employees.

The Society For Human Resource management states that the stock price growth of the 100 firms with the most ethical workplace ethics outperformed peer industries by almost 300%. This just shows that there is scientific evidence proving that a positive work culture can predict shareholder value by enabling better value creation. So here are some of the work ethics practices that can be incorporated into a company to bring about an ethical work culture. 

Be The Role Model

Start by being the change you want to make. If you want to make a difference in the world, the first thing that you need to do is to show them what you mean, especially if you are in higher authority positions. Employees usually look up to the top management when it comes to how they should behave in the social setting of the office. If the top management follows strict work ethics and makes sure that they are complied with absolute transparency, employees will undoubtedly and invariably follow suit.

Communication

Always keep the ethics of the company in the back of your head while making decisions. Communicate the same throughout all levels of management: right from the peon all the way to the CEO. The organisation itself should have a written down code of conduct that dictates the work ethics of the organisation. This makes sure that there are no ambiguities or loopholes and that the message is very clear to all the employees. 

Ethical Training

The organisation should set up workshops, seminars and other such events to promote ethics in the workplace. Such sessions reinforce the idea of an ethical and moral high ground in the workplace. This reiterates the fact that the company/organisation is hell-bent on enforcing and making sure that everyone is reminded that they should follow workplace ethics.

Reward and Punishment

The management should make sure that a person who follows the ethical code of the company should be rewarded while at the same time punish people who go against it. Simply punishing people for or breaking ethics is not that effective because everyone knows that there are consequences for wrongdoing. However, giving appraisals to people who follow work ethics gives the impression that the organisation values good ethics and the people who follow them which gives the employees an incentive to be ethical in the workplace. 

Make a Safe Workplace For Employees

Most companies have a moral code or an ethical code of conduct, but when it comes to enforcing them, there might be a lot of fear and uncertainty. This uncertainty can be eliminated by creating a safe workplace environment where employees can discuss their ethical dilemmas and report unethical behaviour without the fear of getting fired or other workplace consequences.