New Survey Looks at Why People Sometimes Bend the Rules at Work

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Feb. 3 /PRNewswire/ — Having overly aggressive

financial and organizational business objectives without a formal ethics

program could be a formula for pushing otherwise honest employees over

the edge, according to a survey conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management

(SHRM) and the Ethics Resource Center (ERC).

A new SHRM/Ethics Resource Center Business Ethics Survey found that,

during a one-year period, more than half (54 percent) of the 747 human

resource professionals surveyed had observed workplace conduct in

violation of the law or in violation of the organization’s standards of ethical business

conduct. The most common types of misconduct cited were lying to

supervisors (45 percent), the abuse of drugs or alcohol (36 percent) and

lying on reports or falsifying records (36 percent). Eighty-nine percent also said that the average

employee misrepresents information in communications with supervisors.

Nearly half (47 percent) of the 747 human resource professionals

surveyed said they feel pressured by other employees or managers to

compromise their organization’s standards of ethical business conduct in

order to achieve business objectives. The top five pressures identified

were meeting overly aggressive financial or business objectives (50

percent), meeting schedule pressures (38 percent), helping the

organization survive (30 percent), rationalizing that others do it (22

percent) and resisting competitive threats.

While most (79 percent) said they reported their observations of

misconduct to management or other appropriate parties, 21 percent did

not report the misconduct. The top reason cited by those who did not

report misconduct was fear of being accused of not being a team player

(96 percent).

The 1997 SHRM/Ethics Resource Center Business Ethics Survey was mailed

to 5,000 randomly selected SHRM members in February 1997; 747 human

resource professionals responded. The survey costs $50 for members and

$70 for non- members. Surveys can be purchased by calling

1-800-444-5006 or visiting the SHRMStore at SHRM Online (www.shrm.org).

Ethics Resource Center (ERC) is a non- profit, nonpartisan ethics

education organization. SOURCE Society for Human Resource Management

Barry Lawrence, Manager, Media Affairs of the Society for Human Resource

Management,703-535-6047 or barry@shrm.org; or Jennie Ziegler of the

Ethics Resource Center, 703-535-6046 or jennie@ethics.org

– Barry Lawrence