State of Ethics and Compliance in the Workplace 2021

Since 1994, the Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI) has conducted a longitudinal, cross-sectional study of workplace conduct from the employee’s perspective. Now in its sixteenth iteration, ECI’s Global Business Ethics Survey® (GBES®) data provide the global benchmark on the state of ethics & compliance (E&C) in business. Since its inception, ECI’s research has provided leaders with reliable data on trends in workplace ethics focusing on the key drivers that improve ethical cultures in the workplace and how changes in culture impact ethics outcomes. The strength of an organization’s ethics culture is measured through multiple indicators of employee behaviors at various levels within an organization, including leaders, supervisors and coworkers. These behaviors demonstrate and promote a commitment to ethics on a daily basis. A thriving ethics culture involves commitment, modeling and the right conduct by all employees in an organization. Our research shows that the quality of an organization’s E&C program and the strength of the organization’s ethics culture is key to achieving desired ethics outcomes. In addition, while a multitude of factors influence ethical behavior, the interplay of four major ethics outcomes are tied to the daily micro decisions employees make with respect to how they behave in the workplace. These are: pressure in the workplace to compromise ethical standards; observations of misconduct; reporting misconduct; and ultimately, the retaliation perceived by employees after they reported misconduct.

2024-03-22T15:27:50-04:00Wednesday, July 7, 2021|

Pressure in the Workplace

Organizations cannot effectively function if the rules and policies that serve as the guidepost for employees’ actions and behaviors are not followed. Over the years, Ethics & Compliance Initiative™ (ECI™) research has found that the pressure employees may experience to compromise their organization’s ethics standards, policies or the law is linked with an increased likelihood to observe misconduct. In brief—pressure goes hand in hand with higher prevalence rates of misconduct. What contributes to employee pressure? What factors help reduce pressure? Are certain types of employees at higher risk of experiencing pressure? To answer these questions, ECI examined the 2019 Global Business Ethics Survey™ (GBES™) data to assess misconduct rates across the globe, the areas within an organization that contribute to employee pressure to compromise their organization’s ethics standards and to identify who within the organization is more likely to experience pressure.

2024-03-22T16:16:08-04:00Tuesday, July 6, 2021|

Stat of the Week – July 6, 2021

68% of U.S. employees surveyed indicated that they seek guidance from an individual or resource in their organization "most of the time" or "every time" when they are unsure of the appropriate legal or ethical course of action to take.

2024-03-27T14:12:12-04:00Tuesday, July 6, 2021|Stat of the week|

Moving an E&C Program from Effective to High-Quality

In our last post, we looked at how organizations can create effective ethics and compliance programs. In this last of our series, we explore how trailblazing organizations take this a step further and create high-quality ethics & compliance programs. Organizations with high-quality ethics and compliance (E&C) programs go beyond

2024-03-26T00:02:57-04:00Wednesday, June 30, 2021|High Quality Program|

Stat of the Week – June 28, 2021

The Stat of the Week shares insights and trends from original research conducted by ECI. Most findings are from the Global Business Ethics Survey® (GBES®). The GBES is a longitudinal, cross-sectional study of workplace integrity from the employee’s perspective. The Stat of the Week is an ongoing series published every Friday

2024-03-27T14:12:13-04:00Monday, June 28, 2021|Stat of the week|

Stat of the Week – June 21, 2021

The Stat of the Week shares insights and trends from original research conducted by ECI. Most findings are from the Global Business Ethics Survey® (GBES®). The GBES is a longitudinal, cross-sectional study of workplace integrity from the employee’s perspective. The Stat of the Week is an ongoing series published every Friday

2024-03-27T14:12:13-04:00Monday, June 21, 2021|Stat of the week|

Stat of the Week – June 14, 2021

The Stat of the Week shares insights and trends from original research conducted by ECI. Most findings are from the Global Business Ethics Survey® (GBES®). The GBES is a longitudinal, cross-sectional study of workplace integrity from the employee’s perspective. The Stat of the Week is an ongoing series published every Friday

2024-03-27T14:12:13-04:00Monday, June 14, 2021|Stat of the week|

Stat of the Week – June 7, 2021

The Stat of the Week shares insights and trends from original research conducted by ECI. Most findings are from the Global Business Ethics Survey® (GBES®). The GBES is a longitudinal, cross-sectional study of workplace integrity from the employee’s perspective. The Stat of the Week is an ongoing series published every Friday

2024-03-27T14:12:13-04:00Monday, June 7, 2021|Stat of the week|