One in 10 workers feels pushed to act unethically
One in 10 New Zealand workers have felt some form of pressure to ‘‘compromise their organisation’s standards of ethical behaviour’’, according to a survey by the British-based Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) and Victoria University of Wellington.
Only 56 per cent of the 752 Kiwi respondents said their employer provided a means of reporting misconduct confidentially, compared with 64 per cent in Britain and 61 per cent in Australia.
The proportion of Kiwi workers who had felt under pressure to bend ethics was lower in New Zealand than in Australia, where the figure was 13 per cent, and in Europe, where it was 16 per cent, IBE director Philippa Foster Back said.
Victoria University Professor Karin Lasthuizen said it was still concerning.
‘‘Employees who have felt pressured to compromise ethical standards are more likely to have negative perceptions of the ability of managers to promote ethics at the workplace.’’ Time pressure .................................................... 39% We were under-resourced .......................... 36% Following boss’s orders ................................ 29% Asked to take shortcuts ............................... 20% Unrealistic objectives ..................................... 18% Financial/budgeting pressures ................. 18% Team-player peer pressure ......................... 15% Unethical culture .............................................. 10% Trying to save my job ....................................... 5%
Of the 10 per cent who had felt pressure to behave unethically, 39 per cent said ‘‘time pressure’’ was a factor and 20 per cent said they were asked to take ‘‘shortcuts’’.
But 29 per cent said they were ‘‘following orders’’ and 11 per cent – a total of eight of the overall 752 employees surveyed – said their organisation had an ‘‘unethical culture’’.
Twenty-nine per cent of New Zealand employees surveyed by the IBE and Victoria University of Wellington said their organisations had a comprehensive ethics programme, while 10 per said their organisation had none at all.