Millennials are most willing to lie to get ahead but are you inadvertently encouraging their bad behaviour?
According to a range of recent studies, workplace principals are on the plummet and the Institute of Leadership and Management’s CEO Charles Elvin says leaders should be the ones responsible for improving a company’s code of conduct.
“As more and more organisations seek to embed a culture of ethical awareness and behaviour, it is crucial to set clear guidelines on what is and is not acceptable within the workplace,” Elvin said.
ILM's report Employees behaving badly turned up some alarming results that suggest managers know all about this bad behaviour and often turn a blind eye.
According to ILM the top ten most unethical workplace behaviours are:
Now, Elvin is calling on HR professionals to lead by example because bosses, knowingly or unknowingly, may be encouraging this unethical behaviour themselves.
While employers may be comfortable with workers occasionally using the office printer for personal reasons, it’s likely they’d be far less understanding of employees telling lies or cutting corners and, according to Elvin; “leaders need to set that benchmark by defining the types of behaviour that will not be tolerated, by putting in place a clear ethical statement and leading by example.”
“As more and more organisations seek to embed a culture of ethical awareness and behaviour, it is crucial to set clear guidelines on what is and is not acceptable within the workplace,” Elvin said.
ILM's report Employees behaving badly turned up some alarming results that suggest managers know all about this bad behaviour and often turn a blind eye.
According to ILM the top ten most unethical workplace behaviours are:
- Cutting corners – 72 per cent
- Lying to hide mistakes – 72 per cent
- Badmouthing colleagues – 68 per cent
- Passing the buck – 67 per cent
- Slacking off when nobody is watching – 64 per cent
- Lying to hide other people’s mistakes – 63 per cent
- Taking credit for other people’s work – 57 per cent
- Taking a sick day – 56 per cent
- Lying about skills and experience – 54 per cent
- Taking low value items from work – 52 per cent
Now, Elvin is calling on HR professionals to lead by example because bosses, knowingly or unknowingly, may be encouraging this unethical behaviour themselves.
While employers may be comfortable with workers occasionally using the office printer for personal reasons, it’s likely they’d be far less understanding of employees telling lies or cutting corners and, according to Elvin; “leaders need to set that benchmark by defining the types of behaviour that will not be tolerated, by putting in place a clear ethical statement and leading by example.”
