On our ability to make ethical judgment in the workplace, and why we think ethics needs to be learned and practiced.

Over recent decades, increasing pressure from civil society and stakeholders has made organisations more conscious of the need to promote ethics, as well as the benefits of doing so, in relation to their economic, social and environmental impact. ‘Ethics’ or ‘ethical practice’ can mean a range of things for organisations - integrity, transparency, accountability, inclusivity, and more.

Beyond external pressure, many organisations are now led by people who simply believe there is no other way to do business, and who are committed to creating economic value in an ethical way.

There’s also a contributing factor from within: the mind sets and expectations of the people who they employ. We’ve all been exposed to many articles, surveys and opinion pieces that contribute to the widely-spread narrative that Millennials (and younger generations in general) have more profound ethical values and stronger morality than older generations.

So, is there a generational pattern when it comes to ethical judgment and ethical behaviour in the workplace? Do younger employees make better and more ethical decisions?

A wealth of empirical research through the last 20 or 30 years has explored ethical associations with age. Such research has been drawing upon a range of fascinating theories such as life stage, moral development, generational, and socialisation theories. Findings and conclusions however have been mixed, leaving us pondering whether there is a pattern and a link between age and ethical reasoning.

Ethics at Work*, an international survey deployed by The Institute of Business Ethics in 2021, and that surveyed about 10,000 employees in 13 countries, found that younger employees (18-34) are more likely to have been aware of misconduct at work. 24% of the survey respondents aged 18-34 declared that they have been aware of conduct by employers or colleagues that they thought violated either the law or their organisation’s ethical standards. This compares to 18% of respondents aged 35-54, and 10% of respondents aged 55+.

Beyond awareness, younger employees also seem more likely to take action and speak up when made aware of ethical misconduct. The Ethics at Work survey found that overall (i.e. across all ages) only slightly more than half of employees who were aware of ethical misconduct would raise their concerns (57%). This feels incredibly low, and the survey drills into some of the reasons that prevent employees from speaking up. When considering younger respondents however, the researchers found that 61% of them raised their concerns with management, another appropriate person, or through any other mechanism.

These findings seem to be supporting the idea that younger employees exhibit higher ethical judgment in the workplace than older employees.

However, when considering the wider set of data from the Ethics at Work survey, a different conclusion seems to emerge.*

When surveyed on ‘ethically questionable’ practices, younger employees (18-34) are more likely to find these ‘acceptable’ compared with older colleagues. This includes practices such as taking stationery from work for personal use, charging personal entertainment to expenses, pretending to be sick to take the day off, and favouring family and friends when recruiting or awarding contracts.

Moreover, younger employees and the younger generation of managers are more likely to have lenient attitudes towards minor breaches of the rules. They tend to agree with statements such as “minor breaches of the rules are inevitable in a modern organisation”, or “if we cracked down on every minor breach of the rules, we would soon find we have no staff”.

So on the one hand, younger employees seem to inherently have higher awareness of the importance of ethics in the workplace: it is a topic that is top of mind, and they show willingness to take action, take responsibility, and speak up. On the other hand, their definition of what is ‘ethical’ - and therefore their ethical judgment - may be questionable.

There could be specific time-bound and location-bound reasons that explain young people’s questionable ethical judgment. For instance, we may want to consider the implications of the Covid-19 lockdown on young employees’ understanding of their organisation’s culture and values. The flow on effect of the pandemic, with more and more employees enjoying the flexibility of working from home, could also have implications on people’s ability to navigate work relationships and ethical dilemmas.

The lack of direct in-person contact affects our emotional functions in a way that may explain our reduced ability to apply ethics to work situations. When facing an ethical dilemma, if considering colleagues’ intentions, feelings, or involvement is made harder by the lack of in-person time and engagement, we find ourselves less equipped to make an ethical decision. This challenge would likely be felt by younger employees even more, in particular if they are relatively new to the organisation.

Another example of time-bound and location-bound circumstances is the highly pressured and competitive environment young people who are currently entering the employment market are finding themselves in. When feeling under pressure to further their career, or simply to hold onto their job, young managers and employees might consider unethical tactics to boost their profile and performance. In the 2018 Ethics at Work survey, questions were asked to respondents with a managerial role and, as an example, 23% of the younger managers in New Zealand thought that it is acceptable to “artificially increase profits in the books as long as no money is stolen” compared to 6% of mid-career managers aged 35-54 and 2% of older managers aged 55+.

?In times of economic austerity and higher unemployment, is ethics becoming a trade-off between doing the right thing and doing what is best for your career?

?It may well be. But if we put aside specific context and circumstances, we’d like to propose a more fundamental explanation for the gap that research has identified between young employees’ values and their actual behaviour in the workplace. We think that ethics needs to be learned and practiced.

We can’t dismiss the generational trend that tells us that young people are more concerned with ethical issues in relation to the world around them, than earlier generations at the same age. But what research tells us is that they need to be supported and equipped to learn how to behave in a way that is aligned with their values and intentions, including in the workplace. We think this takes the form of formal learning, through capability building programmes, and personal and professional development opportunities (see the Seven Steps Model below). But it is also the benefit of time and experience that can’t be engineered or fast-forwarded. It is through years of organisational socialisation that people grow their understanding of business ethics, and their emotional capacity for ethical judgment.

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A Seven Steps Model for Ethical Decision-Making

1- What is your ethical dilemma?

2- Who is involved and what is at stake?

3- Which information do I need to evaluate the arguments against moral principles?

4- Which solutions can be put forward?

5- What is my conclusion?

6- Prepare to get your message across

7- How do you feel about your decision?

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To read more about the 7 steps, advice and additional prompts to help you navigate them, and ways to practice, get your copy of HUMANGOOD, a practical field guide to ethical leadership here.

Progressive business ethics practices and ethics programmes have a significant role to play in offering a positive and enabling framework for employees - starting with youngest employees - to develop their ethical judgment in the workplace, and bridge their drive to do good with their day-to-day actions. Ethical decision making is a developmental process, usually progressing with life and work experiences. Employers have a responsibility to intentionally develop an ethical culture, and to offer the tools and mechanisms for employees to understand it in the first place, subsequently to live and breathe it, and ideally to offer input into it. Much can be improved regarding business ethics standards, so there is an opportunity to create a virtuous circle by supporting younger employees’ appetite to question, challenge and improve the status quo, for the benefit of all.

Notes:

* See also: Ethical Reasoning at Work: A Cross-Country Comparison of Gender and Age Differences. Administrative Sciences, 13(5), 136. Open access: https://doi.org/10.3390/admsci13050136 , which is a study by the Brian Picot Chair in Ethical Leadership - Aritahi, Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington.

Many thanks to Hélène Malandain of Pocketknife for her help creating this article.

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