Are we becoming morally bankrupt?
NEW RESEARCH SUGGESTS OUR MORALS AROUND MONEY ARE CHANGING, SO WH WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR OUR WALLETS?
WOULD you keep quiet if you were undercharged in a restaurant? Or would you return clothing you’d already worn to the shop?
New research suggests our morals around money may be changing – and the rise of the internet and new technology are also having an impact.
The study found that “wardrobing” – where someone buys an item of clothing, wears it, then returns it to the retailer for a refund – may be becoming more acceptable.
Of the 18- to 29-year-olds surveyed, 32% find it acceptable to buy, wear and return something they have bought online. Only 11% of people aged between 50 and 59 years old, believe doing this is acceptable, the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) found.
The research looked at the relationship between “faceless technology” and someone’s willingness to behave less ethically by attempting to get their money back when they know they are not really entitled to do so.
Interestingly, the findings suggest behaving unethically may be deemed more acceptable when it affects a company or large commercial entity, rather than a person.
While 17% of people surveyed would find it acceptable to wear and return an item they had bought online, only 11% would find it acceptable to do this at a local shop – where they would be face-to-face with a store assistant.
The idea of taking back in person something that had been worn was less acceptable than returning it online across the generations, with 23% of 18- to 29-year-olds and 6% of 50- to 59-year-olds finding it acceptable to return an item in person having worn it once.
The research found that men and women seem equally inclined towards buying and returning clothing they have bought online, with both 17% of men and women finding this acceptable.
But there were situations where men appeared to be willing to behave less ethically than women, to put themselves at a financial advantage. Some 29% of men surveyed thought it acceptable not to report a mistake a bank had made in their favour, compared with 19% of women. Meanwhile, 17% of men thought it was acceptable to go over-thetop when it comes to making an insurance claim, with just 11% of women finding it acceptable. In another quandary, would you keep quiet in a bar or a restaurant if you had been under-charged?
The survey asked people how acceptable they would find it if, following a meal with a group of friends, they noticed the waiter had left off a round of drinks bought at the bar beforehand when adding up the bill.
Almost two-fifths of people would find it acceptable to say nothing and pay the amount shown on the bill.
Again, there were age variations, with 51% of 18- to 29-year-olds versus 35% of 50- to 59-year-olds finding this acceptable.
Rebecca Aston, integrity and ethics manager at the CISI, says this scenario reveals more about human nature, with a “strength in numbers” approach backed up by a group when we are presented with a moral dilemma.
Simon Culhane, chief executive of the CISI, says: “This survey has demonstrated that ethical behaviour and motivation on a day-to-day basis can be affected by gender, age and money.”
He says technology is also a significant factor, as it has removed the need to interact face-to-face – which, he says “could point to our becoming desensitised to the person behind the corporate entity, firm or online retailer”.