Half staff do things that clash with values: poll

Ethics and integrity are two very important traits in companies in the Mena region, according to a new poll by Bayt.com.

For 98 per cent of respondents, working for a company that has top ethics and integrity is important – ‘very important’ to 92.3 per cent. Roughly three quarters (74.2 per cent) consider the company they work for to have a high level of ethics and integrity, to ‘a large extent’ for 45.8 per cent of respondents.

Six in 10 state that their company has a written code of ethics, which 67.8 per cent claim is fleshed out and well-communicated in a transparent manner. Ethics training is required at 68 per cent of respondents’ companies, with 78.8 per cent claiming that ethical criteria are included in the employee appraisal system.

On the other hand, 17.2 per cent say that their company is not at all transparent about its values, with a further 15 per cent stating that the level of transparency is low.

Top managers set a good example of ethical conduct, according to 68 per cent of respondents, though only 47.7 per cent consider, to a large extent, that their direct manager is someone with a high level of ethics and integrity.

A quarter (23.3 per cent) state that their direct manager may not be someone they see as having a high level of ethics and integrity.

This is perhaps reflected in the fact that 54.6 per cent of respondents have been asked to do something at work at some point in their careers that has clashed with their personal values. For 18.4 per cent of those respondents, it is a frequent occurrence, while it happens ‘sometimes’ for the remaining 36.2 per cent.

Two thirds (66 per cent) claim that their companies do have procedures for reporting unethical behaviour, for which individuals are punished at 72.1 per cent of respondents’ organizations.

According to 51.5 per cent of respondents, it is possible to succeed professionally without compromising their personal morals and values, though they are opposed by 29.8 per cent who believe the opposite is true. A fifth (18.7 per cent) believe that it is only possible to exceed ‘to some extent’ without breaching personal ethics.

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