Take your eyes off the highway for a moment and you may be in for a shock. Drift to the right and rumble strips snap you back to attention. Go the other way and chances are a cable barrier or jersey wall will get in your way. These exist to reduce the amount of accidents on our nation’s highways. They keep us between the lines – In a sense a way to reduce unethical behavior.
business ethics word cloud with related tags
If you think about it, we establish similar parameters in many areas of our lives to prevent us from disaster. The workplace should be no exception. With ethical barriers, you can help reduce incidents of poor behavior in your company.
So what are your organization’s barriers? Here are some to consider:
Support the whistle-blower– Create safe ways for employees to report unusual behavior, such as confidential surveys and education on the topic. If there is a level of comfort in the process, people are more likely to take part in it.
Be happy– Companies with higher employee satisfaction levels are less likely to encounter unethical behavior. Simply put, happy people find it harder to justify bad choices. Create a culture that values happiness.
Checks and balances– Make sure employees share responsibilities regarding company finances. Segregating duties and reallocating roles makes it more difficult for an individual to stray outside ethical lines.
Keep them on their toes– Set up a review system with unscheduled components. If employees considering illegal behavior aren’t sure when their activity will be evaluated, they are less likely to take the chance.
Follow through– Despite your best effort, unethical behavior may find its way into your organization. When it does, make sure to respond swiftly and with clear consequences. This will send a message to staff that your organization won’t tolerate it.
Rumble strips and cable barriers line roadways to keep us where we need to be. Ethical barriers can have the same effect in the workplace.
Interested in helping those in your organization stay between the lines? Let’s chat.
