Ethics in the Workplace

Ethics in the workplace

Ethics has been defined many times, so there is no reason to repeat it’s definition. However, addressing ethics in the workplace does bridge ethics and morals on some level. Workplace is described as a place where a group of individuals gather together to accomplish specific goals for a business or organization. It encompasses a myriad of attitudes and characters, and cultures. It is important to establish work ethics or people can get out of control and start to implement their own code of ethics.

If ethics are not established, productivity could be stopped. Without proper leadership in a workplace, ethics could cause major problems. There are a list of things that needs to be established in a workplace to ensure good ethics exist. Honesty is the major factor for good ethics in a work environment. Honest should always play a major role in any work place. It sets the tone for anyone who wants to have longevity in a work place. Honesty also shows colleagues what the standards are for that particular company and it should not be compromised. Honesty should be effortless. Honesty isn’t something that should be crafted; it should be a part of your fiber.

Respect should also be a part of a workplace environment. If the people who work together don’t respect the coworkers, it will be counterproductive. If there is no respect in the workplace, disrespect could become the norm. The lack of respect shows others that the leadership is not in control and will tolerate less than stellar workers. Honesty and respect should be exemplified by everyone who works for the organization, not just the leaders. Leaders, lead by example, and to show their employers this is what is expected of them, gives everyone guidance for the company.

Another importance aspect of ethics in the workplace is to always display professionalism. Professionalism is a characteristic that not everyone has, but can acquire. Professionalism should let everyone around notice that you are of the highest quality that the company has hired. It should allow others to see that you are dedicated, accountable and honest you are. It should also let others see that under no circumstances will you be late for anything for any reason because you value yourself and want to represent yourself and your company at the highest standards possible.

 In the workplace, setting boundaries is mandatory. It should be understood that certain practices, such as racism and sexism will not be tolerated. It should always come across that being fair is the most important things that you will display to all personnel on all levels. Favoritism is not an object and everyone should walk away feeling like they were treated as an equal in the work place.

When a code of ethics is set in the workplace, it allows everyone there to be accountable for themselves and others. It shows that if you are hired for a specific job, you must be qualified and there should be no reason to feel threaten by anyone else because the ethics in the workplace is applicable to everyone.

Ethics v Moral

Ethics and morals seem to go hand in hand. A lot of people find it hard to separate the two. I have learned that ethics has more to do with the rules that society has put in place and morals has more to with personal preferences. Ethics describes what rules and regulations that society has set and expects everyone to adhere to. Morals are something that comes from a family’s values.   There are many types of ethics that exist.  The most familiar ones to most are professional ethics, social ethics and family ethics. Depending on what kind of ethics is being discussed, you may have to retain a criminal lawyer to defend you and it may come a time that ethics and morals may appear blurred. If murder is the subject being discussed the criminal lawyer may try to impose his personal moral beliefs on you to help you get through what could happen to you. It may change your mind about what you thought was ethical or moral, which may now be unethical and immoral. However, the final decision is personal and should be decided upon based on what is ethical and moral to the individual.  

            Ethics is term that is often associated with businesses, which usually explains what should or should not be done if employed by the company. A specific type of behavior is expected while at work and expectation is very high. Although ethics can be used in a family setting, most people tend to lean toward morals in a family environment. The standard of ethics that you use at home is more relaxed than what would be used at a corporation or place of employment. The ethics at work defines misconduct, thievery, rape, violence and fraud. Anything that would demean the company or embarrass the company in anyway can be defined under the ethics parameters.

            Morals are more of a personal method of beliefs that most people set for themselves. More like a set of personal rules they want to live by. It is a process in which most people use to justify what they do what they do. Morals are what most people use when they are trying to determine if something is wrong or right. It more like a person’s conscious. Morals are also based on a person’s personal belief which is instilled in them at an early age by a parent or guardian. Not everyone will admit to it, but usually morals have a lot to do with how a person was raised and what the environment was like while learning the ways of the world and how to survive in it.   

            Ethics and morals usually become an issue is something is going wrong within an organization or company and a person has to make a decision if what they are doing is morally wrong or is it unethical. Once this occurs, the person is now torn between what they believe is right and what they think is right. If a person is more dedicated to the company than to themselves, they will usually chose ethics over morality. It becomes an issue of what the company wants instead of what the person wants. Although it could be wrong, the person is still torn because they are doing the right thing for the wrong reason, and it is something they have live with and it becomes painfully clear what is ethical or moral when it is for the sake of employment.

            Passing judgment on whether someone compromised themselves ethically or morally is a thin line. What appears to be one way to one person may not be that way at all. The example that comes to mind is abortion. If a person has been raped and feels that having an abortion is the right thing to do, morally they may feel it’s wrong, but ethically it is right because it was an act that was not welcomed and the person never wanted to have children, especially from someone they didn’t know. Not everyone will agree that it was morally right or ethically right.  Some decisions should not be left up to society to decide. Whether it is an ethical or moral issue, both of the decisions are a personal and spiritual issue. A person may be ostracized because of their decision, but it should be a decision they made and the decision should be something they can live with for the rest of their lives. The decision should not make you feel guilty about a personal decision.  Some people may think taking someone’s life is immoral regardless of the act in which it was conceived. Ethically, society may be split on the decision to have an abortion depending on the circumstance. Society has a specific set of rules that they think everyone should follow that is supposed to apply to everyone.  Morals are cut and dry on what they believe is right and wrong. There is no indecisiveness when it comes to morals. There is no gray area or wiggle room when dealing with morals. Ethics are simply rules that society has put out to society to follow to maintain some kind of order.