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Ethics at Work 2015 Survey of Employees Main Findings and ThemesBy Daniel Johnson

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2 IBE Ethics at Work Survey 2015: Main Findings and ThemesChapter

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Survey

Ethics at Work 2015 Survey of Employees Main Findings and Themes

By Daniel Johnson

1

Allrightsreserved.Toreproduceortransmitthisbookinanyformorbyanymeans,electronicormechanical,includingphotocopying,recordingorbyanyinformationstorageandretrievalsystem,pleaseobtainpriorpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.

EthicsatWork:2015SurveyofEmployees-MainFindingsandThemes

ISBN 978-1-908534-16-3

©IBEwww.ibe.org.uk

FirstpublishedNovember2015bytheInstituteofBusinessEthics24GreencoatPlaceLondonSW1P1BE

RegisteredCharityNo.1084014

2 2015 IBE Ethics at Work Survey: Main Findings and Themes

ContentsPage

IBE Foreword 5

Messages from Survey Gold Supporters 6

Introduction 9 Purposeofthesurvey 10

Datacollection 10

Thereport 11

Settingthescene 11

Chapter 1 Main Findings from the British Survey 14 Chapter 2 Main Findings from the Continental 16 Europe Survey

Chapter 3 Survey Themes 18 Theme 1 Employeeawarenessofcorporateethics 19

programmesincreasesethicalawarenessand perceptionsofethicalculture

Theme 2 Youngeremployeesexpectmoreoftheir 25 employersregardingresponsible businessconduct

Theme 3 Conductingpersonalactivitiesatworkisseen 28 tobemoreacceptablethanotherpotentially unethicalpractices

Theme 4 EmployeesincontinentalEuropearenow 32 moresensitivetoethicalissuesintheirworkplace

Theme 5 ManagersincontinentalEuropehaveagreater 34 awarenessofsupportforethicsatwork thannon-managers

Summary and Conclusion 39

Appendix Methodologies and Respondent Profiles 41

Statements from Survey Silver Supporters 43

Related IBE Publications 45


Author Daniel Johnson istheResearchHubManagerattheInstituteofBusinessEthics.Heresearchesandwritesonanumberofbusinessethicstopicsfor theIBE,managesitsprogrammeofpublicandcorporatesurveysandengagesintrainingandpublicspeakingtoraiseawarenessofthesubject.HeholdsaMaster’sDegreeinCorporateSocialResponsibilityfromtheICCSRat NottinghamUniversity.

AcknowledgementsTheIBEwouldliketothankthefollowingcompaniesfortheirgenerousfinancialsupportofthissurvey.

Gold Supporters

Silver Supporters

Bronze Supporter

Manypeopleandorganisationshavemadethissurveyreportpossible.Inadditiontothefinancialsupportprovidedbythecompanieslistedabove,wearegratefultoIpsosMORIandComResfortheirhelpandsupportinproducingthereport.TheauthoristhankfulfortheinputofallattheIBE,especiallyJoannaHickswhoeditedthetextandoversawproduction,andtoNeilPaffordwhodesignedandlaidoutthefinalreport.


IBE ForewordThewaybusinessisconducted–theethicsofbusiness–continuestobeofpublicimportance.Individualcorporatecrisescontinue.Tesco,ToshibaandVolkswagenareamongthosewidelyreportedin2015.The24/7informationworldinwhichwelive,meansthatnobadcorporatepracticecanbehidden forlong.

Employeeviewsareoneofthebarometersbywhichthetemperatureofethicalbusinesscanbemeasured.Theirapproachtoethics–whattheyarewillingornotwillingtodo–andtheirperceptionofhowtheyfeelsupportedtodotherightthing,arecrucialtounderstandingwhyandhowthesecorporatescandalsarise.

ThisiswhytheInstituteofBusinessEthics(IBE)hassurveyedBritishemployeesabouttheirattitudesandperceptionsofethicsatworksince2005.In2012thiswasextendedtoafurtherfourcountries:France,Germany,ItalyandSpaininordertoprovideapictureofethicsatworkacrosscontinentalEurope.

Thisreporthighlightsthemainfindingsfromthefivecountriesanddrawstogethersomethemestoconsider.Theemployees’viewpointshowsthedegreetowhichcompanieshaveembeddedtheirvaluesabout‘howtheydobusiness’.Thisisanareawherecontinuousimprovementisalwaysneeded:thedatashowsthatthisdoesseemtobehappeningcomparedtopreviousyears,butthereareexceptions.

IamverygratefultoDanielJohnson,IBE’sResearchHubManager,forhisauthorshipofthisandtheothersixreportsinthe2015EthicsatWork Surveyseries.

Finally,thisseriesofsurveyreportswouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthefinancialsupportofagroupoftheIBE’ssubscribersandIthankthemallfortheircontributions:Barclays,Centrica,LloydsBankingGroup;Aviva,HSBC,L’Oréal,Orange,RBS,Total;andAirbus.

AswithallIBEpublicationswelookforwardtoreceivingyourfeedbackandinsightonthesesurveyfindings.

Philippa Foster Back CBEDirectorInstituteofBusinessEthics


Barclays plc

The traditional view of a company as a function of land, labour and resources has passed its use-by date. A company is now much more than this; it is a group of people with a common purpose – serving customers creatively and profitably so to create long term value for shareholders. Responsible companies create a climate of challenge, opportunity and recognition for their people and contribute to society in ways that are congruent with their business and obligations to their owners.

The impact that a significant company such as Barclays can have is potentially far reaching. With over 130,000 employees, 48 million customer and client relationships, and many thousands of suppliers across operations in over 50 countries, we touch people’s lives across the world in a variety of different ways. We therefore need to embrace high standards and conduct ourselves in a way that is admired.

Barclays has embraced the purpose of helping people achieve their ambitions – and this is supported by a set of values that is articulated, explained and applied throughout our organisation. We are serious about this and track our progress, ensuring the organisation is stronger in every key respect at the end of a year than it began the year such that we are an organisation defined not just by ‘what’ we do, but also ‘how’ we do it and the consequences of our actions and decisions.

Integrity is at the core of a responsible company and needs to be demonstrated consistently and without fail. Along with excellence in service this is fundamental not only to our long-term success, but our very reason to exist.

In light of this, we welcome the results of the IBE’s 2015 Ethics at Work Survey.

John McFarlane Chairman, Barclays

Barclays is an international financial services provider engaged in personal, corporate and investment banking, credit cards and wealth management with an extensive presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Barclays’ purpose is to help people achieve their ambitions - in the right way.

With 325 years of history and expertise in banking, operating in over 50 countries and employing over 130,000 people, Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide.

Messages from Survey Gold Supporters


Centrica plc

AtCentrica,webelieveitisvitalforcompaniestohaveanethicalandmoralcompasstosecuresustainablebusinesssuccessandcreatevalue insociety.

Fromtheprioritisationofsafetytoarespectforhumanrightsandtheprotectionoftheenvironment,ourbusinessprinciplessetoutthehighestethicalstandardsweexpectandtheprinciplestowhichwecommittooperateby.AllofourprinciplesareunderpinnedbyuniversallyacceptedstandardsincludingtheUNGlobalCompactTenPrinciplesandtheInternationalLabourOrganisationCoreConventions,whilesupportingAnti-BriberyandCorruptionlegislation.

Upholdingtheseprinciplesisourcommitmenttodogoodbusinesswhichhelpsdefineusintheeyesofourpeople,ourcustomersandourwiderstakeholders.Indoingso,wehopetobuildtrustworthinessinourbusinessandsector.

Embeddingethicalpracticesacrossaninternationalcompanyinameaningfulway,canhoweverbechallenging.Wewelcometheresultsofthe2015IBEEthicsatWorkSurveywhichwillinformtheevolutionofourethicalframeworkandourpurposeinsociety.

Rick Haythornthwaite Iain ConnChairman,Centrica CEO,Centrica

Centricaisa21stCenturyenergyandservicescompanywhereeverythingwedoisfocusedonsatisfyingthechangingneedsofourcustomers.Havingservedourcustomersforover200years,thisiswhatweareknownfor,whatwearegoodatandwherewehavedistinctivecapabilities.

Wehave28mcustomeraccountsacrossourleadingcustomer-facingbusinessesofBritishGasintheUK,BordGáisEnergyintheRepublicofIrelandandDirectEnergyinNorthAmerica.Includingtheexploration,production,generation,marketingandtradingofenergyalongsideourstoragebusinesses,weemployover37,500peopledirectlyandsupport174,000jobsinthewidereconomy.



LloydsBankingGroupisaleadingprovideroffinancialservicestoindividualandbusinesscustomersintheUK.

Ourmainbusinessactivitiesareretailandcommercialbanking,generalinsurance,andlong-termsavings,protectionandinvestment.WeprovideourservicesunderanumberofwellrecognisedbrandsincludingLloydsBank,Halifax,BankofScotlandandScottishWidowsandthrougharangeofdistributionchannelsincludingthelargestbranchnetworkintheUKandacomprehensivedigitalproposition.

TheGroupisoneofthelargestcompaniesintheFTSE100indexofleadingUKcompanies.


Lloyds Banking Group

DoingbusinessethicallyandresponsiblyisattheforefrontofourmindsatLloydsBankingGroup.That’swhywearedeterminedtocentreourorganisationaroundservingcustomerneeds.Thiscustomer-centricapproachreflectsourbeliefthatbanksneedtoreturntothequalitiesthatoncemadethempillarsofthecommunitiestheyserve–recognisingthathavingthetrustofcustomersisanimperativeforourindustry.

IbelievewhatdifferentiatesLloydsisourexplicitmissiontohelpBritainprosper,whichisintegraltoourstrategyandisunderpinnedbyanethicalandresponsibleapproach.Thisiswoventhroughoutthefabricofourbusiness–fromtheaimsweset,tohowwemeasureourperformance.

Implementingaconsistentcultureacrossalargeanddiverseorganisationisnotaneasytask,butourstrongcompanyvaluesandrobustcodesofresponsibilityprovidestrongfoundationsonwhichtobuild.Weknowthatbuildingcolleagues’prideintheorganisationanditspurposeisanessentialelementofdoingbusinessresponsibly,whichiswhy‘buildingthebestteam’,isakeypillarofourstrategy.

Regainingtrustofourstakeholdersiscentraltoourbusinessratherthana‘nicetohave’.Itwilltaketime,butwearecompletelycommittedtoachievingthisbysettingthehighestpossiblestandardsofintegritytoserveourcustomers,clientsandshareholders.

TheworkconductedbytheIBEaspartofemployees’viewsonethicsatworkwillprovideuswithvaluableinsightsintohowourcolleaguesviewthisissue.

Lord Blackwell Chairman,LloydsBankingGroup


IntroductionWhat are employees’ attitudes to the way business is done in their place of work? Do they feel able to speak up when they have become aware of misconduct? Are formal ethics programmes effective in embedding ethical values into organisational culture and behaviour? Are there differences between sub-groups of employees? Have perceptions changed over time?

TheInstituteofBusinessEthics(IBE)hasaskedsimilarquestionsoftheBritishworkforcesince2005. 1 In2012,weextendedpartofthesurveytofouradditionalmajorEuropeanmarkets–France,Spain,ItalyandGermany. 2

In2015,withanincreasedinternationalpublicdialogueconcerningethicalconductintheworkplace,stimulatedinpartbymajorinternationalcorporatescandals,wehaveextendedthisresearchfurther.WehaveexpandedthenumberofquestionsaskedinfourcontinentalEuropeanmarketstocontinuetheharmonisationwiththeunderstandingofemployeeviewsofbusinessethicsintheirworkplaceinBritain.

ThisreportpresentsmainfindingsandthemesfromtheIBE’s2015researchintoethicsatworkinBritain,France,Germany,ItalyandSpain.

ThenationalsurveyresultsfromBritain,France,Germany,ItalyandSpainandthecomparativecontinentalEuropefindingsareeachpublishedinseparatereports.Theoverallsurveyconclusionsarepresentedhereinthisseventhreport Ethics at Work: 2015 Survey of Employees – Main Findings and Themes.

1 The2005,2008and2012Employee Views of Ethics at Work: British Survey reportsareeachavailable,freetodownload,fromtheIBEwebsite.

2 Employee Views of Ethics at Work: 2012 Continental Europe Survey, available,freetodownloadfromtheIBEwebsite.

AllthesurveyreportsareavailablefreetodownloadfromtheIBEwebsite.

EthicsatWork:2015SurveyofEmployees–Main Findings and Themes »EthicsatWork:2015SurveyofEmployees–Britain »EthicsatWork:2015SurveyofEmployees–Germany »EthicsatWork:2015SurveyofEmployees–France »EthicsatWork:2015SurveyofEmployees–Italy »EthicsatWork:2015SurveyofEmployees–Spain »EthicsatWork:2015SurveyofEmployees–Continental Europe »

9 2015 IBE Ethics at Work Survey: Main Findings and ThemesIntroduction

http://www.ibe.org.uk/list-of-publications/67/47#pub2220







http://www.ibe.org.uk/userassets/publicationdownloads/ibe_survey_report_ethics_at_work_2005.pdf

http://www.ibe.org.uk/userassets/publicationdownloads/ibe_survey_report_employee_views_of_ethics_at_work_2012_british_survey.pdf

http://www.ibe.org.uk/userassets/publicationdownloads/ibe_survey_report_employee_views_of_ethics_at_work_the_2008_national_survey.pdf

http://www.ibe.org.uk/userassets/publicationdownloads/ibe_occasional_paper_7_employee_views_of_ethics_at_work_2012_continental_europe_survey.pdf

British Survey Ipsos MORI

Continental European Survey ComRes

Data collection methodFace-to-face interviewin English

Online in native language

Date of data collection 6-23 March 2015 4-11 March 2015

Number of respondents

674 respondents (weighted to be representative of the British working population, aged 16+)

750 respondents per country, 3,000 total (weighted to be representative of the working population, aged 16+ in each country)

Employment status of respondents

Full-time workers onlyFull-time and part-time workers

Length of questionnaireTotal of 16 questions (10 questions with sub questions)

Total of 13 questions (with no sub questions)

Data collectionDataforthisresearchwascollectedbytwoseparatepollingorganisations.ThedatafortheBritishreportwascollectedbyIpsosMORIinaseriesofface-to-faceinterviews.ThedatafortheContinentalEuropepartofthesurveycoveringFrance,Germany,ItalyandSpainwascollectedonlinebyComRes,withtheEnglishquestionnairetranslatedintothelocallanguageofeachcountry.Inbothcases,thesurveyswereundertakeninMarch2015.ThetwoapproachestodatacollectionarecomparedandcontrastedinTable1.TheresearchmethodologiesandrespondentprofilesarepresentedinmoredetailintheAppendix.ThesurveyquestionnairescanbefoundinAppendix1ofeachnationalsurveyreport.

Table 1 Summary of research methodologies

Purpose of the surveyTheaimsofthe2015IBEEthicsatWorkSurveywereasfollows:

• todevelopanunderstandingofemployees’attitudesto,andperceptionsof,ethicsintheworkplacein2015

• toidentifytrendsanddevelopmentsbymakingcomparisonswiththedataoftheIBE’spreviousEthicsatWorksurveys

• toexploreifandhowanethicalcultureandtheexistenceofformalethicsprogrammesinfluencestandardsofethicalbehaviourintheworkplace

• toassesswhethermanagers’attitudestoethicsaresignificantlydifferenttothosetheymanage

• toenquireifandhowemployeesfeelsupportedinmaintainingethicalstandardsatwork

• tocomparehowbusinessethicsisviewedandunderstoodbyemployeesindifferentEuropeancountries.


The reportDuetothedifferencesinresearchmethodologiesandrespondentprofiles(outlinedabove),directcomparisonsbetweentheBritishandContinentalEuropesurveysarenotpossible.Thisreport,therefore,presentsindicativetrendswhichareobservedtobeconsistentbetweenthetwosurveys,ratherthanattemptingtocomparethetwodatasets.

ThisreportpresentsthemainfindingsfromtheIBE’sBritishandContinentalEuropeEthicsatWorkSurveysin2015andexploresfivethemeswhichemergefromthedata.

Setting the sceneTherehavebeenanumberofsignificantglobaleventssincethisresearchwaslastconductedin2012.Businessethicshasneverbeenseentobemoreimportantthaninthechangingbusinessenvironmentofthe21stcentury.Therecentglobalfinancialcrisishadanethicaldimensionwhichresultedinwidespreadramificationsinorganisationsaroundtheworld.Subsequently,theglobalbusinessvernacularhaschanged,withmanybusinessleadersemphasisingtheimportanceofcreatingethicalcultureswithintheirorganisationsandattemptingtopromoteresponsible,sustainablebusiness.Thisistrueacrosssectors,locationsandsizeofcompany.

Expectationsplacedonbusinessbysocietyandotherinternalandexternalstakeholdersarenowhigherthaneverbefore:

• Employeeswanttoworkfororganisationsinwhichthecultureisalignedwiththeirpersonalvalues. 3

• Shareholdersareexercisingtheirrightsmorediligently,puttingpressureoncompaniestotakeethicsseriously.Forexample,votingagainstexecutivecompensationpackagestheydeemtobeexcessiveatcorporateAGMs. 4

• Suppliers,especiallysmallandmedium-sizedenterprisesare‘findingtheirvoice’,whetherindependently,collectivelyorthroughanotherpartyontheirbehalf,especiallyinrelationtounfairpaymentterms. 5

• Customersarevotingwiththeirfeet,boycottingproductsandcompaniesthatdonotmeettheirexpectations,andthesocietiesinwhichorganisationsoperateexpectthosecompaniestobeheldaccountablefortheiractions. 6

3 SurveysofUKstudentshavedemonstratedthatover70%believeacompany’sethicalapproachtobeadeterminingfactorwhentheyareassessingpotentialemployers.AGCAS(2013)Political and ethical issues: diversity matters.

4 SeeIBEBusinessEthicsBriefing(No42)Fairness in the Workplace: pay.

5 SeeIBEBusinessEthicsBriefing(No34)Supply Chain and Payment Practices.

6 In2013,inthewakeofthemediacoveragerelatedtotheamountofcorporatetaxpaidintheUK,StarbucksreportedafallinUKsalesforthefirsttimein16years.SkyNews(2014)‘StarbucksSalesFallForFirstTimeIn16Years’.

Expectations placed

on business by

society and other

internal and external

stakeholders are

now higher than

ever before.

‘‘


https://targetjobs.co.uk/careers-advice/equality-and-diversity/324391-political-and-ethical-issues-diversity-matters

http://www.ibe.org.uk/userassets/briefings/b42_pay.pdf

http://www.ibe.org.uk/UserAssets/Briefings/Supply_Chain_Payment_Practices.pdf

http://news.sky.com/story/1249095/starbucks-sales-fall-for-first-time-in-16-years

Consistentethicalbehaviourmaybethestatedaimofmostbusinessleadersbutthefrequencyofreportedlapsesdoesnotdiminish.Whyisthis?TheexperienceoftheIBEovernearlythreedecadesindicatesthatoneoftheprinciplecausesisagapbetweenthestandardssetbytheboardandtherealityofstaffmeetingorganisationaltargets.

Discoveringwhatemployeesatalllevelsofanorganisationthinkaboutthewaythecorporatevaluesareappliedinalltheorganisation’srelationshipsisasignificantwayofunderstandingwheretheproblemsarise.Thisresearchhelpswithunderstandingemployees’attitudesandexperiencesandcanhelptoaddresswhathasbecomeknownasthe‘say/do’gap–wherewhatanorganisationsaysisnotfoundtobepractised.

specific national contexts

Thespecificnationalcontextsinwhichthe2015IBEEthicsatWorkresearchwasconductedalsoneedtobehighlighted.

In Britain,thelastthreeyearshaveseenthebusinessethicslandscape‘moveon’fromthescandalsassociatedwiththefinancialcrisis.Anincreasedawarenessoftheethicalaspectsofbusinessdecision-makinganda‘secondwave’ofcorporatescandalsfromavarietyofsectorsoftheeconomyhasledtohigherlevelsofcorporateandpublicengagementinbusinessethics.AsreportedbyEdelman,theUKisdriftinginthe‘trustdoldrums’withtrustinbusinessbeinglostasaresultofcompaniesnot‘playingfair’,especiallywithregardtolevelsoftaxandexecutivepay. 7 ThisisconsistentwiththeIBE’sownresearchoftheBritishpublic’sattitudestobusinessethicswhichshowsthatcorporatetaxavoidanceandexecutivepayarethetwoissueswhichmostneedaddressingbycompanies. 8 Thatbeingsaid,thisresearchsuggeststhatemployeesinBritainarelessscepticaloftheirownorganisations,indicatingthatlowlevelsoftrustareininstitutionsasopposedtoindividualemployers. 9

Spainhasexperiencedadeepeconomiccrisisoverrecentyears.Thishashadamajorimpactonpublicexpectationsofcompaniesandinstitutions.Theynowactivelydemandgreateropennessandaccountability.Businessethicshasalsogainedgreaterrelevancefordifferentstakeholders,andisnowpositionedascentraltonewcorporatemanagementmodels.Companymanagementisbecomingincreasinglyfocusedonsocialresponsibilityandgoodgovernance.

Understanding

employees’ attitudes

and experiences

... can help to

address what has

become known as

the ‘say/do’ gap.

‘‘

7 EdWilliams(2015)‘The UK: We’re drifting in the doldrums’EdelmanResearchInsight.

8 IBESurveyAttitudes of the British Public to Business Ethics 2015.

9 AmongstBritishemployees,81%saidthathonestywaspractised‘always/frequently’intheirorganisation’sdailyoperations:BritishReport,Figure5,p15.




http://www.edelman.com/post/uk-drifting-doldrums


InthelastfewyearsinFrance,businesshasbeenpreoccupiedwithimprovingefficiencyinthefaceofperceivedburdensomeregulationsandanexcessiveroleofthestateintheeconomy.Businessethicsmayhavebeenseenasasecondaryconsiderationrelativetotheseconcernsandthegeneraleconomicmalaise.Additionally,thesizeableFrenchdefencesectorhasrepeatedlybeenimplicatedincorruptionandtheFrenchbanksarefacingsomeofthesamemisconductproblemsastheirUKandUScounterparts.AnotherinterestingrecentdevelopmentwasthedecisionoftheFrenchcourtthatconvictedSociétéGénérale’sroguetraderJérômeKervielwhenitsuggestedhealonewastoblameforhismisconduct.TheFrenchpublicwasgenerallyscepticalofthisconclusion.ThismayinpartexplainthesurveyfindingssuggestingFrenchorganisationsarelesslikelytohaveethicsprogrammesinplace,thoughculturaldifferencesrelativetootherEuropeancountriesandtheUKinparticularareanimportantanddeeperexplanation.

Overtime,theattentionpaidtobusinessethicsinGermany has ebbedandflowed.However,sinceanumberofcorruptionscandalsinthecountrybetween2005-2010,companyapproacheshavechangedabruptly.Thisledtoaperiodofriskbasedduediligenceand‘bureaucraticcompliancesystems’beingsetup.However,businessethicswascommonlyperceivedasunnecessary.ThissurveysuggeststhatthisisnowbeginningtochangeinGermanorganisations.

Sincethissurveywaslastcarriedoutin2012,theItalianeconomyhasbeensignificantlyaffectedbyacontinuingeconomiccrisis.Severefinancialdifficultieshavemeantcompanieshavehadto‘battendownthehatches’and,consequently,therehasbeenanegativeimpactontheemphasisplacedonethicalbusinessbehaviour.Anotherimportantpointtonoteisthatthisresearchwascarriedoutintheimmediateaftermathofthe ‘Mafia Capitale’ scandalinthecountrywherebywell-knownpoliticalandbusinessfigureshavebeenconvictedofcontractriggingandembezzlementofpublicfunds.TheshockwavesofthescandalhaveledtoamajordecreaseoftrustininstitutionsintheviewoftheItalianpublic.








1Main Findings from the British SurveyIn Britain, the experience of business ethics in the workplace has remained relatively consistent over the last three years. The perception of how frequently honesty is practised in the daily operations of their organisation is still high amongst British employees. 10 The proportion of employees who raised their concerns of misconduct has also remained constant (at around half), and the proportion who had felt pressured to compromise their organisation’s standards of ethical conduct has remained low (only 8%). See dashboard of 2015 findings below.

However,overthelongerhistoryofthissurvey,changesinemployeeattitudesto,andexperienceof,ethicshaveseenconsiderablefluctuation,whileemployersupportforethicsatworkhasgrownpositively.

SincetheIBEfirstconductedthissurveyin2005,therehasbeenaconsistentriseinawarenessofsupportprovidedbyorganisationstoencourageethicsatwork(asshowninFigure1).ThissuggeststhatethicsprogrammeshavebecomemoreestablishedinBritishorganisationsoverthelast10years.

dashboard of 2015 findings: Britain

TheBritishEthicsatWorkSurveyreportwiththefullfindingsisavailabletodownloadfromtheIBEwebsite »

People treated inappropriately / unethically / unfairly

Britain

Proportion who said honesty is practised ‘always / frequently’*

Level of awareness of misconduct*

Most common type of misconduct aware of**

Proportion who did not raise their concerns of misconduct**

Most common reason for not raising concerns***

Proportion who felt pressured to compromise their current organisation’s standards of ethical conduct*

Main pressure****

I felt it might jeopardise my job

Time pressure

Britain

81%

45%

20%

8%

*n=674 **n=134 ***n=60 (caution small base size) **** n=53 (caution small base size) Forfullbases,seeBritishReport

14 2015 IBE Ethics at Work Survey: Main Findings and ThemesChapter 1


11PublicConcernatWork,theUKwhistleblowingcharity,havereporteda15%increaseinthenumberofcallstheyhavereceivedregardingworkplacewhistleblowingmattersbetween2012and2014.

Were you satisfied with the outcome? base(2012,2015)=63,73AllBritishfull-timeworkersraisingconcernsofunethicalconduct(cautionsmallbasesize)

Q4d

2012 2015

Yes

No

39%

61%

55%

30%

70%

Theawarenessanduseofspeakup(whistleblowing)systemshasincreasedovertime.11Manyorganisationsarestrivingtocreateconfidenceinthesystemstheyhaveputinplace.However,satisfactionwiththeoutcomeofspeakinguphasfallenbyalmosthalfsince2012,withlessthantwo-fifths(39%)nowsatisfiedwiththewayinwhichtheirconcernwasdealtwith.

Figure 2 Employee satisfaction with the outcome of speaking up, Britain(2012-2015comparison)

In Britain,

employer support

for ethics at work

continues to grow

i

Satisfaction with

the outcome of

speaking up has

fallen by almost

half in Britain

since 2012

i

base(2005,2008,2012,2015)=759,791,665,674AllBritishfull-timeworkers

2005 201520122008n A Written standards

n B A means of reporting misconduct confidentially

n C Advice or information helpline

n D Training on standards of ethical conduct73%

86%

66%

54%

49%

62%

58%

73%

84%

55%

65%

52%

50%

47%

69%

78%

Yes

No

Figure 1 Changes in employee awareness of elements of a formal ethics programme, Britain (2005-2015comparison)


http://www.pcaw.org.uk/

Main Findings from the Continental Europe SurveyAcross continental Europe, in general, employees are less positive in 2015 about their experiences of ethics in the workplace than they were when we first conducted this survey in 2012. Honesty is said to be practised less frequently and employees say they are more aware of misconduct. Fewer raised their concerns when they became aware of misconduct, and awareness of each of the four elements of a formal ethics programme is lower. However, employees across continental Europe are also less likely to have felt pressured to compromise their organisation’s ethical standards than in 2012.

SignificantvariationsinexperiencesarealsoobservedineachofthefourcontinentalEuropeancountriessurveyed-France,Germany,ItalyandSpain.Forexample,asopposedtotheoveralltrendsabove,moreemployeesinSpainnowsaythathonestyispractisedalways/frequentlyintheirorganisationthanin2012,andawarenessofelementsofanethicsprogrammedidnotfallinGermany.Themainvariationsforeachcountryarehighlightedonthenextpage.

dashboard of 2015 findings: continental Europe

2

TheFrench,German,ItalianandSpanishEthicsatWorkSurveyreportsandthecomparativeContinentalEuropereport,givingthefullcontinentalEuropeanfindings,areavailabletodownloadfromtheIBEwebsite. »

Continental Europe

People treated inappropriately

/ unethically / unfairly

I did not believe corrective

action would be taken

I was following my boss’s

orders



I felt it was none of my business


orders






orders

Abusive behaviour



I had to meet un-realistic business

objectives/deadlines



I felt I might jeopardise my

job / I felt it was none of my

business


orders

Continental Europe FRA GER ITA SPA

Proportion who said honesty is

practised ‘always / frequently’*

Level of awareness of misconduct*

Most common type of misconduct

aware of**

Proportion who did not raise their

concerns of misconduct**

Most common reason for not

raising concerns***

Proportion who felt pressured to

compromise their current organisation’s standards

of ethical conduct*

Main pressure****

58%53%54% 54%

73%70% 63%66% 77%

45%32%30%33%

49%

12%12%13% 14% 15%

23%

*n=3,000 **n=975 ***n=527 ****n=398 Forfullbases,seeContinentalEuropeReport







TheresearchrevealedaclearculturaldifferencebetweenemployeesinGermanyandSpain,regardingtheirperceptionsofhonestyintheworkplaceandorganisationalmisconduct.EmployeesinSpainwerethemostlikelytosaythathonestyispractisedatleastfrequentlyintheirorganisation’sdailyoperations,butalsothemostlikelytohavebeenawareofmisconduct.TheoppositeistrueofGermanemployees.ThisindicatesthatintheopinionofSpanishemployees,thereislessofadistinctionbetweenpracticeswhicharedishonestandthosewhichviolatethelawororganisationalethicalstandards,thanthereisforGermanemployees.ThiscanbeexplainedbythefactthatinGermany,honestyisseenmoreasanindividualvirtue,thanasacharacteristicoforganisationalconduct.Consequentlythisfinding,whichmaybeviewedasadiscrepancyfromaBritishperspective,doesmakesensefromaGermanone.

SignificantnationalvariationsGermany is the only country where levels of awareness of ethics programmes did not fallGermanemployeesreportedahigherlevelofawarenessofcodesofethicsandspeakup(whistleblowing)linesthanin2012.InthethreeothercontinentalEuropeancountries,levelsofawarenessofeachoftheseelementsofaformalethicsprogrammegenerallyfell.(SeeContinentalEuropeReport,Table10,andGermanReport,Figure10.)

Honesty is said to be practised more frequently in Spanish organisationsSpainistheonlycountrysurveyedinwhichemployeesreportedanincreaseinthefrequencyofhonestyintheworkplace.InallthreeothercontinentalEuropeancountries,itdecreased.(SeeContinentalEuropeReport,Table2,andSpanishReport,Figure3.)

In France, fear of retaliation is less of a barrier to speaking upOnly13%ofrespondentsinFrancesaidthattheydidnotraisetheirconcernsofmisconductbecauseoffeelingthatitmightjeopardisetheirjob.ThisislowerthaninallothercontinentalEuropeancountriessurveyed.(SeeContinentalEuropeReport,p22,andFrenchReport,Figure7.)

Italian employees are most aware of speak up lines and ethics trainingAwarenesslevelsofameansofreportingmisconductconfidentially(35%)andtrainingonethicalstandards(39%)arehigherinItalythanintheotherthreecontinentalEuropeancountries.(SeeContinentalEuropeReport,Table10andItalianReport,Figure10.)

i













3Survey ThemesWhile direct comparisons cannot be made between the British and Continental Europe datasets, when the data for each of the countries was considered collectively, five key themes emerged. Three are observed to be consistent in both Britain and continental Europe, the final two relate only to continental Europe.

Theme 1 Thesurveyprovidesevidenceofhow investing in corporate ethics programmes can benefit an organisation,throughtheimpacttheyhaveonemployeeperceptionsoftheethicalcultureoftheirorganisation.

Theme 2Intermsofresponsiblebusinessconduct,younger employees (those aged 16-34) expect more from the organisations for which they workthanolderemployees(aged55+).

Theme 3Attitudestocertainworkplacepracticesaregenerallyobservedtobesimilaracrossthecountriessurveyed.Ingeneral,attitudes of employees tend to be more lenient towards conducting personal activities during work hours,thanotherpractices.

Theme 4Evidencesuggeststhatemployees in continental Europe are more sensitive to ethical issuesintheworkplacethantheywerethreeyearsago.

Theme 5ManagersincontinentalEuropearefoundtohaveagreaterknowledgeandawareness of the elements of corporate ethics programmesthannon-managers,suggestingthatthereisstillworktobedoneinembeddingsuchprogrammesacrossalllevelsofemployees.

Each of these findings, and its associated implications, are considered in this chapter.

i

!!!!

18 2015 IBE Ethics at Work Survey: Main Findings and ThemesChapter3

© iB

E

Whichcreatefeedbackloopsforlearningandimprovement

Written standards of ethical

business conduct

Code of Ethics

Means of reporting

misconduct confidentially

Speak Up Line

Advice about behaving

ethically at work

Advice or Information

Helpline

Training on ethical standards

of conduct

Ethics Training

i

Theme 1Employee awareness of corporate ethics programmes increases ethical awareness and perceptions of ethical culture

TheIBEdefinesbusinessethicsas‘theapplicationofethicalvaluestobusinessbehaviour’.Inordertoaffectbusinessbehaviour,ethicalvaluesneedtobeembeddedthroughouttheorganisation,fromtheshopfloortothedirector.Thearticulationofcorporatevaluesisthefoundationofanyethicsprogramme,fourelementsofwhichareshowninFigure3.

Figure 3 Four elements of an effective ethics programme

Summary

The results of the 2015 Ethics at Work Survey show that in both Britain and Continental Europe, awareness of corporate ethics programmes increases the ethical awareness of employees and their perceptions of ethical culture. In both surveys, employees in organisations which provide a code of ethics, a speak up line, advice/information helplines and ethics training, are more likely to say that honesty is practised always/frequently in their organisation; are less likely to have been aware of misconduct in the preceding year; and are more likely to agree with each of the indicators of an ethical culture.

Ethical Values

are embedded into the cultureand influence behaviour

through

3.119 2015 IBE Ethics at Work Survey: Main Findings and Themes

Chapter3

Inthissurvey,participantswereaskedwhethertheybelievedthattheirorganisationofferedthesefourcommonelementsofanethicsprogramme-acodeofethics,aspeakupline,advice/informationhelplinesorethicstraining.Notethisdescriptionofthesefourelements,usedthroughouttheremainderofthisreport,isanabbreviationofthewordingusedinthesurveyquestionnaire.12

TwentyyearsofIBEresearchhasrevealedthatthemostcommonpurposeofacompany’scode of ethicsistoprovideguidancetostaffonhowtohandleethicaldilemmasthatmayariseinthecourseoftheiremployment,outliningwhatisexpectedoftheminthewaythattheybehaveatwork.13Thecodeisthemostfundamentalelementofacompanyethicsprogramme,andthemainmeansofsupportanorganisationcangivetoitsemployees.14

Whistleblowing (or speaking up) isbecominganincreasinglyprominentissuefororganisations.Inrecentyears,therehavebeenanumberofhigh-profilewhistleblowingcaseswhichhavemadeglobalheadlines,andsomeoftheallegationsraisedhavehadsignificantreputationalconsequencesfortheorganisationsinvolved.Theactofraisingaconcerncantakemanyforms.Anincreasingnumberoforganisationsarestrivingtocreateanopencultureinwhichindividualsfeelfreetospeakupandraiseanyconcernstheymayhave.Thealternative,ifcompaniesdonotoffersuchsupporttotheiremployees,isthattheywillraisetheirconcernsexternally,eitherwitharegulatororeven themedia.

Manyorganisationsnowofferadvice or information helplines as an additionalmeansofsupporttoemployees.Thesemaybesupplementaryto,orincorporatedaspartof,thespeakupsystem(above).Thisreflectsashiftintheapproachbeingtakenbyorganisations–manyarenowseekingamoreconsultativeandpreventativeapproachtodealingwithissuesofmisconduct,insteadofthepreviouslymorereactivedetectionorinvestigationapproach.Inaddition,offeringadviceoraninformationhelplineisagoodwayinwhichtohelpfosteranopenculturewhereemployeesfeelfreetospeakupabouttheirconcerns,andwhereethicalconsiderationsstarttobecomeengrainedintheorganisationandpartofbusinessasusual.15

12Q7inContinentalEuropesurvey,Q5inBritishsurvey.Fullquestionwording:Pleaseindicatewhetherthefollowingstatementappliestoyourorganisationornot?A.Myorganisationhaswrittenstandardsofethicalbusinessconductthatprovideguidelinesformyjob(forexampleacodeofethics,apolicystatementonethicsorguidanceonproperbusinessconduct);B.Myorganisationprovidesemployeeswithameansofreportingmisconductconfidentially,withoutgivingtheirnameorotherinformationthatcouldeasilyidentifythem;C.MyorganisationoffersadviceoraninformationhelplinewhereIcangetadviceaboutbehavingethicallyatwork;D.Myorganisationprovidestrainingonstandardsofethicalconduct.WhereA.isunderstoodtorepresentacodeofethics,B.aspeakupline,C.advice/informationhelplines,andD.ethicstraining.Theseabbreviationsareusedfortheremainderofthisreport.

13IBESurveyCorporate Ethics Policies and Programmes: 2013 UK and Continental European Survey.AvailableforfreedownloadfromtheIBEwebsite.

14IBEReportDeveloping an Effective Code of Business Ethics(2016forthcoming).

15IBEGoodPracticeGuideSpeak Up Procedures.AvailabletopurchasefromtheIBEwebsite.

Offering advice

or an information

helpline is a good

way in which to

help foster an

open culture where

employees feel free

to speak up about

their concerns.

‘‘


20 2015 IBE Ethics at Work Survey: Main Findings and ThemesChapter

http://www.ibe.org.uk/userassets/publicationdownloads/codes_survey_2013_interactive.pdf


16IBEGoodPracticeGuideDeveloping and Using Business Ethics Scenarios.AvailabletopurchasefromtheIBEwebsite.

Manyorganisationsarealsorecognisingtheimportanceofprovidingtrainingonstandardsofethicalconductfortheiremployees.Dedicated ethics training,orinclusionofethicaldilemmasinotheremployeetraining,isaneffectivewayofincreasingemployeeengagementregardingbusinessethics.16

Eachofthesefourelementshelpstoincreasetheethicalsensitivityofemployeesbyraisingawarenessandunderstandingofethicalconsiderationsintheworkplace.

Employee awareness of elements of ethics programmes

ThefindingsfromtheBritishandContinentalEuropesurveysrevealthatemployeeawarenessofcorporateethicsprogrammeshaschangedovertime.AsalreadyshowninBritain,therehasbeenaconsistentpositiveincreaseinemployeeawarenesslevelsofeachoftheelementsofanethicsprogrammesince2005(Figure1inChapter1).

AcrosscontinentalEuropethepictureismoremixed.GermanyistheonlycontinentalEuropeancountrysurveyedwherelevelsofawarenessofethicsprogrammesdidnotfall.DecreasesinemployeelevelsofawarenesswerereportedinItaly,SpainandFrancebetween2012and2015.

Table 2 Changes in levels of employee awareness of each of the elements of an ethics programme, Continental Europe (2012-2015)

› ›› ››

› ›› ››

› ›››

› ›››❙

❙

Continental Europe ITA SPA FRA GER

A. Code of ethics

2015 ‘Yes’ 46% 47% 48% 42% 47%

Change since 2012 -7% -20% -4% -12% +7%

B. Speak up line

2015 ‘Yes’ 28% 35% 28% 24% 27%

Change since 2012 -3% -3% -9% +1% +3%

C. Advice/Information helpline

2015 ‘Yes’ 19% 21% 17% 18% 20%

Change since 2012 -15% -15% -26% -18% 0%

D. Ethics training

2015 ‘Yes’ 27% 39% 23% 21% 23%

Change since 2012 -12% -21% -24% -6% 0%

Germany is the

only country

where awareness

of all elements

of an ethics

programme

did not fall

i

base(2012,2015)=3001,3000(750ineachofFrance,Germany,ItalySpain)



Benefits associated with investing in ethics programmes

The‘businesscaseforbusinessethics’hasbeenwelldocumented.Companieswhichoperatetohighethicalstandardshavebeenproventoshowincreasedfinancialperformanceovertime. 17Relativelylittleresearchhasbeenproducedthatindicateshowbusinessethicspays.Responsestothissurveyprovidesomeevidenceoftangiblebenefitsresultingfrominvestmentincorporateethicsprogrammes.

Participantswereaskedwhethertheirorganisationprovideseachofthefourelementsofanethicsprogrammelistedabove,andwerecategorisedaccordingtowhethertheyindicatedthattheirorganisationoffered‘all’,‘any’or‘none’oftheseoptions.Theirresponsestoallquestionsinthesurveywerecomparedtoassesstheimpactofprovidingformalsupporttoemployees.

The findings show that in Britain, employees who indicated that their organisation provided all four of these mechanisms had a more positive experience of ethics in the workplace.Theyweremorelikelytoagreewitheachoftheindicatorsofanethicalculture,andhadamorepositiveperceptionofthebehavioursobservedintheirorganisation(seeFigure4).

Onesuchbehaviouristhepracticeofhonesty.Honestyisatraitwhichisvaluedbyorganisations,andisoftenastatedcorevalue. 18Inpractice,itisalsoinstantlyrecognisable.Assuch,itcanbeusedasaproxyforbusinessethicsorbusinessintegrity(aswasdoneinthissurvey). 19

Thesurveyalsoaskedparticipantsabouttheiropiniononanumberofstatementsrelatedtopracticeswhichcanbeconsideredasindicatorsofanethicalculture. 20Thestatementscanbecategorisedintothefourareasof:

• management behaviour (‘Overall,mylinemanagersetsagoodexampleofethicalbusinessbehaviour’,and‘Mylinemanagersupportsmeinfollowingmyorganisation’sstandardsofethicalbehaviour’) 21

• communication of ethics(‘Mylinemanagerexplainstheimportanceofhonestyandethicsintheworkwedo’,and‘Issuesofrightandwrongarediscussedinstaffmeetings’)

• responsible business conduct(‘Myorganisationactsresponsiblyinallitsbusinessdealings(withcustomers,clients,suppliers,etc.)’,and‘Myorganisationlivesuptoitsstatedpolicyofsocialresponsibility’),and

• enforcement of ethical standards(‘Myorganisationdisciplinesemployeeswhoviolatemyorganisation’sethicalstandards’).

Responses to this

survey provide

evidence of tangible

benefits resulting

from investment in

corporate ethics

programmes.

‘‘

17ResearchbyEthisphereLLC(2015)showsthatbycomparinganequal-weightEthisphereIndexofthe‘World’sMostEthical(WME)Companies’totheFTSEAllWorldIndex(MarketCapweighted)andtheMSCIAllWorldIndex(EqualWeighted),theremaybeapremiumtobeearnedbyinvestingincompaniesintheWMEIndex.

18AccordingtoForgingValues,integrity(ethics/honesty)isoneofthe17commonsharedvaluesofFortune500companies-http://forgingvalues.com/17-common-values/

19Ina2012ICAEWreportReal Integrity: practical solutions for organisations seeking to promote and encourage integrity,attemptstodefinebusinessintegritywerefrequentlygroundedinthethemeofhonesty.

20Question6oftheBritishquestionnaireandQuestion8oftheContinentalEuropequestionnaire.

21Inthesurvey,participantsweregivenanadditionaloptioninthiscategory‘Mylinemanagerrewardsemployeeswhogetgoodresults,eveniftheyusepracticesthatareethicallyquestionable’.However,asthisstatementisframedinthenegative,itisexcludedfromtheanalysishere.


22ThisfindingalsoappearstobetrueintheBritishsurveyhoweverthebasesaretoosmalltogivestatisticalconfidencetothisfinding.63%ofthoseinorganisationswhichprovideallfourmechanismssaidthattheyraisedtheirconcernsofmisconduct(74respondents).45%ofthoseinorganisationswhichprovidenonesaidthesame(only9respondents).

Figure 4 Employer provides ‘all’ elements of a formal ethics programme / All British respondents comparison, Britain(2015)

Employer provides

‘all’ elements of an ethics programme

All British

respondents

(Q3) Honesty practised (‘always or frequently’)

(Q4a) Awareness of misconduct (‘no’)

(Q7a) Pressure to compromise organisation’s ethical standards (‘no’)

(Q6) Indicators of an ethical culture (‘agree’)

Management behaviourOverall, my line manager sets a good example of ethical business behaviour

My line manager supports me in following myorganisation’s standards of ethical behaviour

Communication of ethical standardsMy line manager explains the importance of honesty and ethics in the work we do

Issues of right and wrong are discussed in staff meetings

Responsible business conductMy organisation acts responsibly in all itsbusiness dealings (with customers,clients, suppliers etc.)

My organisation lives up to its stated policy of social responsibility

Enforcement of ethical standardsMy organisation disciplines employees whoviolate my organisation’s ethical standards

85%

84%

81%

71%

72%

69%

65%

95%

76%

79%

78%

92%

86%

76%

81%

83%

83%

87%

82%

ThesameistrueinthecontinentalEuropeancountriessurveyed(seeFigure5).Inaddition,continentalEuropeanemployeeswhowereawareofsomeformofmisconduct,andsaidthattheirorganisationoffers‘all’thetestedelementsofanethicsprogrammearealsomorelikelytosaythattheyraisedtheirconcernsofmisconductwithmanagement,anotherappropriateperson,orthroughanothermechanism,thanthosewhoindicatedthattheirorganisationprovided‘none’oftheabove.22

Britain Response rate:

69%

Employees

in British

organisations

which provide

all four elements

of an ethics

programme have

a more positive

experience of

ethics in the

workplace

i

base(employerprovides‘all’,allBritishrespondents)=436,674


76%

75%

74%

74%

81%

81%

Figure 5 Employer provides ‘all’ elements of a formal ethics programme / employer provides ‘none’ comparison, Continental Europe(2015)

base(employerprovides‘all’,employerprovides‘none’)=261,830

* only significant at the 90% level, all others significant at the 95% level

** only those who said that they were aware of misconduct (at Q3) responded to this question. Base (employer provides ‘all’, employer provides ‘none’) = 81, 303 (caution small base size)

Continental Europe Response rate:

68%

*

83%60%

49%

37%

27%

27%

28%

27%

54%

35%

39%

71%

74%

Employer provides

‘all’ elements of an ethics programme

Employer provides ‘none’


(Q3) Awareness of misconduct (‘no’)

(Q5) Did you raise your concerns? (‘yes’)**



My line manager supports me in following myorganisation’s standards of ethical behaviour





Enforcement of ethical standardsMy organisation disciplines employees whoviolate my organisation’s ethical standards

Employees

in continental

European

organisations

which provide

all four elements

of an ethics

programme

also have a

more positive

experience of

ethics in the

workplace

i


Theme 2Younger employees expect more of their employers regarding responsible business conduct

Thenewgenerationenteringtheworkforceiscreatingopportunitiesandchallengesfororganisationswantingtoconducttheirbusinessinanethicalmanner.23Thefindingsfromthissurveyreinforcethisunderstanding.

Participantsinthisresearchweregroupedaccordingtoage,andtheirresponsestoallquestionsinthesurveywerecompared:

• ‘Younger employees’–thoseaged16-34

• ‘Mid-career employees’ –thoseaged35-54,and

• ‘Older employees’ –thoseaged55+.

Thefindingsrevealthatyoungeremployeesposeaninterestingconundrumtoemployers.IncontinentalEurope,whiletheyexpectmoreoftheiremployerintermsofresponsiblebusinessconduct,theysaytheyhaveamorelenientattitudetowardscertainspecificpracticesrequiringpersonalresponsibility.24 Theyarealsomorelikely,thanolderemployees(55+),tobeengagedwithethicsprogrammes,specificallyspeakuplinesandadviceorinformationhelplines.However,themajorityarestillnotawareofeachoftheelementsofanethicsprogrammeintheirorganisation(seeFigure6).

Summary

Findings from both the British and continental European surveys suggest that when compared with older employees (aged 55+), younger employees (aged 16-34) are found to pose something of a conundrum to their employers. While they are more likely to be aware of, or engaged with, elements of an ethics programme, they are also less likely to agree with the statements related to responsible business conduct. This seemingly greater concern for wider stakeholders suggests that they expect their employer to have an increasingly external outlook on the way in which it conducts its business.

23SeeIBEBusinessEthicsBriefing(No48)(2015)Business Ethics across Generations.

24Ahigherproportionofyoungeremployeesconsidereachofthenineworkplacepracticestestedtobeacceptablecomparedwithbothmid-careerandolderemployees.

25ThesefindingsmustbetreatedwithcautionduetothesmallbasesizeofolderemployeesintheBritishsurvey(n=102)whichmeansthatanumberoftheobserveddifferencesarenotstatisticallysignificant.

InBritain,youngeremployeesarealsomorelikelytobeawareofeachoftheelementsofaformalethicsprogramme,aswellastheprovisionofincentivesthanolderemployees.Howevertheytendtohavealoweropinionoftheresponsiblebusinessconductoftheirorganisation(seeFigure7). 25

The findings reveal

that younger

employees pose

an interesting

conundrum to

employers.

‘‘


Chapter 3

http://www.ibe.org.uk/UserAssets/Briefings/B48_Ethics_across_Generations.pdf

16-34 55+

(Q7) Awareness of elements of an ethics programme (‘yes’)

Code of ethics

Speak up line

Advice/information helplines

Ethics training

(Q11) Provision of incentives (‘yes’)




Continental Europe

Figure 6 Younger employees (16-34) / Older employees (55+) comparison, Continental Europe (2015)

15%22%

28%

56%

50% 56%

61%

* not a statistically significant difference base(16-34,55+)=812,521

25% *

*46%46%

32% 26%

16-34 55+

(Q5) Awareness of elements of an ethics programme (‘yes’)

Code of ethics

Speak up line


Ethics training

(Q8a) Provision of incentives (‘yes’)




31%

84%

81%

81%

79%

78%75%

73%

74%

74%

* not a statistically significant difference base(16-34,55+)=249,102

*

*

*

*

*

Figure 7 Younger employees (16-34) / Older employees (55+) comparison, Britain (2015)

86%66%

65%

Britain Response rate:

Response rate:

20%

23% 18%

Younger

continental

European

employees expect

more of their

employer in terms

of responsible

business conduct

than their older

counterparts

i

Younger British

employees are

more likely to be

aware of a speak

up line and ethics

training

i


Understanding of these generational differences in the workforce should encourage organisations to tailor their ethics training, communication and awareness programmes to the different generations in their workforce, rather than attempting a one-size-fits-all approach to business ethics.26 OnesuccessfulexampleofthisisdescribedinBox1.

Box 1 Case Study: Sodexo UK and Ireland 27

FoodservicesandfacilitiesmanagementcompanySodexohasdevelopedaprogrammetobuildunderstandingbetweendifferentgenerationalgroupsinsideandoutsideoftheworkplace.Theinitiative-GenerationsWorkstream-waslaunchedin2012andhashelpedemployeestounderstandthepersonalandprofessionaldevelopmentneedsofdifferentgenerations,providingemployeeswithopportunitiestointeractandlearnfromtheirpeers.

OneparticularlysuccessfulinitiativeoftheGenerationWorkstreamprogrammeiscalledGenERAtions,anemployeenetworkbasedonthespeciallydesignedboardgameGenMatch.Thepurposeofthegameistohelpstaffappreciatethediverseworkforcethatmakesuptheorganisation,andtheopportunitiesandchallengesthiscanpresent.Playershadtomatchstatementsaboutworkmotivationandstyle,technologyandlifestyletotherelevantgenerations.

Thankstoitsinnovativedesignandaneffectivecommunicationcampaign,thenetworkattractedmorethan300membersinitsfirstfourmonthsandtheimpacthasbeenpositive.Initsmostrecentemployeeengagementsurvey,78%ofemployeesagreedthatSodexovaluesdiversityintheworkplace,upfrom66%in2012.

AccordingtoCEODebbieWhite:“The differences between generations can lead to misunderstanding and miscommunication but, in a workplace situation, if we raise awareness of those differences and harness people’s individuality, it can have a huge impact on the way we work together and help us perform better as a business. That is why we have launched the GenERAtions network; to help us all better understand the people we work with and make us more effective.”

26Generationaldifferencesareonlyoneofthedifferenceswhichorganisationsshouldconsiderwhentailoringtheirethicsprogramme.Forexample,somecompaniesadapttheirmessagesrelatedtoethicsdependingonjobfunctions,orlearningstyles.SeeIBEGoodPracticeGuideCommunicating Ethical Values InternallybyKatherineBradshaw.

27BusinessInTheCommunity2015AwardsFinalist,casestudy,availableonline.



http://www.bitc.org.uk/our-resources/case-studies/sodexo-uk-ireland-generations-workstream-including-generations-employee

Theme 3Conducting personal activities at work is seen to be more acceptable than other potentially unethical practices

Ethicsbeginswherethelawends.Asalreadystated,ethicaldilemmasinhabitgreyareas,wherethecorrectcourseofactionisnotasimpleblack/whitedecision.Differencesinopinion,upbringingandexperience(tonamebutafew)meanthatindividualshavedifferentdefinitionsofwhatmaybeconsideredacceptable.Attitudestoethicsintheworkplacevarybetweencultures,agesandovertime.

Makingethicsprogrammeseffectiveonaglobalscalecanbeachallenge.Oneofthekeystoaddressingthischallengeistogainaproperunderstandingofdifferencesinattitudestoethicalissuesininternationallocations,andtoadapttheethicsprogrammeaccordingly.28

ParticipantsinboththeBritishandContinentalEuropesurveyswereaskedtopassjudgementonwhetherornottheythoughtninespecificpracticeswereacceptable.Thisservedasabarometerofethicalawarenessofemployeesineachcountry.Understandingthenuancesinattitudesofemployeesindifferentcountrieswillhelporganisationseffectivelyembedtheircorporateethicsprogrammesglobally.

Whilstdifferenceswererecordedbetweencountriesinthespecificlevelsofacceptabilityofeachofthepracticestested,ineachofthecountries,attitudesaregenerallyfoundtobemorelenienttowardsconductingpersonalactivitiesduringworkhours(‘makingpersonalphonecalls’,‘usingtheinternetforpersonaluseduringworkhours’,‘postingpersonalmailfromwork(e.g.lettersorparcels)’),thanotherpractices.

Summary

Attitudes to certain workplace practices are generally observed to be similar across the countries surveyed. In general, attitudes of employees tend to be more lenient towards conducting personal activities during work hours, than other practices. This may be indicative of the changing nature of the 21st century workplace where the lines between work and home are becoming increasingly blurred.

28SeeIBEGoodPracticeGuideGlobalising a Business Ethics Programme.AvailabletopurchasefromtheIBEwebsite.

Attitudes to ethics

in the workplace

vary between

cultures, ages and

over time.

‘‘


Chapter 3


Figure 8 Acceptability of common workplace practices, Continental Europe (2015) most unacceptable practice first

n Unacceptable n Acceptable

Pretending to be sick to take the day off

Charging personal entertainment to expenses

Minor fiddling of travel expenses

Using company petrol for personal mileage

Favouring family or friends when recruiting or awarding contracts

Taking pencils and pens from work

Posting personal mail from work (e.g. letters or parcels)

Using the internet for personal use during work hours

Making personal phone calls from work

g

F

H

E

I

A

B

D

C

91%

91%

90%

7%

7%

8%

85%13%

76%21%

74%25%

70%27%

59%39%

52%46%

To what extent, if at all, do you think that each of the following actions is acceptable? base=3,000(750ineachofFrance,Germany,Italy,Spain)

Q1

AswehaveaskedthisquestionaspartoftheBritishsurveyforanumberofyears,itispossibletoseehowtheattitudesofBritishemployeestothesepracticeshavechangedovertime.In2015,bothmakingpersonalphonecallsfromworkandpostingpersonalmailfromworkareconsideredtobeacceptablebyasmallerproportionofBritishemployeesthantheywerein2008.Theoppositeistrueforusingtheinternetforpersonaluseduringworkhours,whichincreasedinitsacceptabilitybetween2012and2015.(SeeFigure9.)

Theincreaseintheacceptabilityofusingtheinternetduringworkhoursisperhapsindicativeofthewayinwhichlinesbetweenworkandhomehavebecomeincreasinglyblurredoverthelastfewyears,asthe21stCenturybusinesslandscapebecomesincreasinglymobileandflexible,andlessreliantonemployeesbeingphysicallypresentinthe‘office’.

Manyemployeesusetheirowndevices(smartphones,tablets,andincreasinglylaptops/notebooks)toaccesspotentiallysensitiveinformation.Thispractice(knownasBYOD-BringYourOwnDevice)isbecomingincreasinglycommon,andmanycompaniesnowhaveBYODpolicieswhichaimtobothfacilitatethismoveandmanagetheassociatedrisks.

Continental EuropeIn continental

Europe, attitudes

are generally

found to be more

lenient towards

conducting

personal activities

during work hours

i


Figure 9 Changing attitudes toward conducting personal activities at work time over time, selected practices, Britain (2008-2015comparison)percentage saying acceptable

n C Making personal phone calls from work

n B Posting personal mail from work (e.g. letters or parcels)*

n D Using the internet for personal use during work hours**

201520122008

I am going to read out some things which have happened in workplaces. In which category would you personally place each one?

base(2008,2012,2015)=791,655,674AllBritishfull-timeworkers

*B.2008and2011questionwording:“Postingpersonalmailfromwork”**D.2008and2011questionwording:“Usingtheinternetforpleasureinworktime”

Q2

45%

25%

30%

44%

38%

26%

50%

25%

31%

Britain

Thespeedofthischangeisalsoposingachallengefororganisations.Statementsregardingemployeesconductingpersonalactivitiesduringworktimeareprominentincompanycodesofethics,andtheapproachesoftwoorganisationsareshowninBox2.

Box 2 Example statements: Conducting personal activities at work in codes of ethics

The Coca-Cola Company Donotengageinpersonalactivitiesduringworkhoursthatinterferewithorpreventyoufromfulfillingyourjobresponsibilities.29

ShellYoushouldapplyhighethicalstandards,complywithapplicablelawsandregulations,andensureyoumeetShell’ssecurityrequirementswhenusingShellITandcommunicationfacilities.YourpersonaluseofShell’sITandcommunicationfacilitiesshouldnotincurmorethananominalcostornegativelyaffectproductivity.30

29TheCoca-ColaCompany:CodeofBusinessConduct(August2012),availableonline.

30Shell:CodeofConduct(2014),availableonline.

Using the internet

for personal use

during work hours

is now considered

to be significantly

more acceptable

than in previous

years

i


http://assets.coca-colacompany.com/45/59/f85d53a84ec597f74c754003450c/COBC_English.pdf

http://s06.static-shell.com/content/dam/shell-new/local/corporate/corporate/downloads/pdf/codeofconduct-english-2010.pdf

31ProfessorStewartFriedman,inanarticleavailablefromEntrepreneurMediaInc.(June2014), availableonline.

Increasingworkplaceflexibility,especiallywithregardtoconductingsomepersonalactivities,mayactuallyhaveapositiveimpactonemployeeproductivity.ProfessorStewartFriedman,attheWhartonSchoolofBusinessattheUniversityofPennsylvania,suggeststhatallowingemployeestotakeshortbreaksduringtheworkdaytocompletepersonalactivitiescaninfactresultinhigherproductivity.31

TheblurringofthelinesbetweenworkandhomemaybeonereasonwhyusingtheinternetforpersonaluseduringworkhourshasrisensignificantlyinacceptabilityamongstBritishemployeessince2012.Thisisnotnecessarilyanegativeforanorganisation.

Increasing workplace

flexibility, especially

with regard to

conducting some

personal activities,

may actually have

a positive impact

on employee

productivity.

‘‘


http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/234434


Theme 4Employees in continental Europe are now more sensitive to ethical issues in their workplace

Aspartofthisresearch,participantswereaskedtwoquestionsregardingpracticeswhichtheythoughtmaycompromisetheirorganisation’sethicalstandards:“During the past year at work, have you been aware of any conduct by your employer or colleagues that you thought violated either the law or your organisation’s ethical standards?” 32 and “Have you felt pressured to compromise your current organisation’s standards of ethical conduct?” 33

Whenresponsestothesetwoquestionsareviewedtogether,itsuggeststhat,incontinentalEurope,employeesaremoreawareofunethicalpracticesingeneral,withoutbeingpersonallyinvolvedwiththem.ThiswouldsuggestthatcontinentalEuropeanemployeesarenowmoresensitivetoethicalissuesintheirworkplacethantheywerelasttimeweconductedthissurveyin2012,andtheyseemmoreabletoidentifyinstancesofmisconductintheirworkplace,evenwheretheyarenotdirectlyinvolved.

Table 3 Change in awareness of misconduct by country, Continental Europe(2012-2015)

Summary

In the continental European countries surveyed, the findings suggest that employees are now more sensitive to ethical issues in the workplace than they were in 2012. Over these three years the level of awareness of misconduct has increased in each of Germany, Italy and Spain (in France it has remained consistent). Simultaneously, the proportion of employees who have felt pressured to compromise their organisation’s standards of ethical conduct has decreased in all four of these countries. These observations suggest that continental European employees are now more able to identify misconduct, even when they are not personally involved.This was not found to be the case in the British survey.

32Q3inContinentalEuropesurvey.

33Q9inContinentalEuropesurvey.

!!!!

ContinentalEurope

SPA GER ITA FRA

2015 ‘Yes’ 33% 45% 23% 32% 30%

Change since 2012 +5% +9% +5% +5% 0%››› ❙›

In continental

Europe, employee

awareness of

misconduct

has generally

increased since

2012

i


Chapter 3

Inspiteofthis,theproportionofemployeeswhohavefeltpressuredtocompromisetheirorganisation’sethicalstandardshasfalleninallfourcontinentalEuropeancountries.34

Table 4 Change in proportion who have felt pressured to compromise their organisation’s ethical standards, Continental Europe (2012-2015)

Whentakentogether,thesefindingsimplythatwhilstemployeesincontinentalEuropearegenerallymoreawareofconductwhichtheythoughtviolatedeitherthelawortheirorganisation’sethicalstandards,theyarelesslikelytohavepersonally,ordirectly,feltpressuredtocompromisethesameethicalstandardsoftheirorganisations.ThissuggeststhatemployeesincontinentalEuropearenowgenerallymoreawareofwhatconstitutesmisconduct,andtherefore,practiceswhichmaynothaveconcernedthemthreeyearsago,nowappeartodoso.

ThesamecannotbesaidofemployeesinBritain,whereboththelevelofawarenessofmisconduct,andtheproportionofemployeeswhohavefeltpressuredtocompromisetheirorganisation’sethicalstandardshaveremainedconsistentbetween2012and2015.

ContinentalEurope

ITA SPA FRA GER

2015 ‘Yes’ 13% 15% 12% 14% 12%

Change since 2012 -9% -12% -12% -8% -5%

› › › › ›

34In2012,participantsweregivenanadditional‘sometimes’option.Thisfigurewasaddedtotheproportionofrespondentswhosaid‘yes’in2012togivethechangesince2012(%points)figuresshowninTable4.

In all four

countries, fewer

employees say

they have felt

pressured to

compromise their

organisation’s

ethical standards

than in 2012

i



Theme 5Managers in continental Europe have a greater awareness of support for ethics at work than non-managers

Theroleofmanagersatalllevelsiscriticaltotheprocessofembeddingethicsthroughoutanyorganisation.Linemanagershaveanessentialroleincommunicatingethicsmessagesandactingasrolemodels.Muchiswrittenabout‘tonefromthetop’,butthe‘toneinthemiddle’isasimportant.Ethicalleadershipplaysadistinctroleinbothbuildingandreinforcinganethicalculturewithinanorganisation,andethicalacumenisakeycompetencefor21stcenturybusinessleadership.35

Summary

Corporate messages regarding support for ethics at work appear to struggle to get beyond the management level in continental European organisations. Managers in France, Germany, Italy and Spain report a higher level of awareness of speak up lines, advice/information helplines, ethics training and incentives to encourage ethical behaviour than non-managers do. This suggests that the core elements of a corporate ethics programme are not effectively embedded in continental European organisations. Codes of ethics, on the other hand, seem to be better embedded with no significant difference in awareness levels between managers and non-managers.

Managers in continental European organisations also seem to have a more positive experience of ethics in the workplace than non-managers. They are more likely to say that honesty is practised always/frequently in their organisations, say they are more willing to raise their concerns when they become aware of misconduct, and are more likely to agree with each of the indicators of an ethical culture tested for. While a causal link cannot be established here, it suggests that continental European organisations are missing out on a number of the benefits of corporate ethics programmes due to these lower levels of awareness amongst non-managers.

As with Theme 4, this only applies in continental Europe. Such differences were not found in the British survey.

Ethical acumen is

a key competence

for 21st century

business leadership.

‘‘

35IBEReportSetting the Tone: ethical business leadershipbyPhilippaFosterBack.AvailabletopurchasefromtheIBEwebsite.

i


Chapter 3


Thequalityandstyleoftheleadershipwillinfluencethetoneoftheentireorganisation.Thoseinpositionsofmanagement,whetherseniororlinemanagement,shouldbeawarethattheyarealsoinpositionsofresponsibility.Whilethecollectivetoneatthetopoftheorganisationisofutmostimportance,therearealso‘leaders’ateverylevelofanyorganisation.Thoseforwhomtheyareresponsiblewillnaturallytrytoemulatethem.

Ethicalleadershipisnotstraightforwardandrequirespersonalintegrityaswellasmoralcourage.Itisbyfollowinggoodpracticewhenoperatinginthegreyareasnotcoveredbythelaworregulationthatleadersdemonstrateboththeircapabilitiesandtheircharacter.Anethicalleader,leadsbyexample,butalsoknowsthatleadershipisaboutprovidingasupportiveenvironmentforindividualsintheorganisationtobehaveinanethicalmanner.

Manyorganisationsarenowtalkingabout‘manager-led’communicationoftheirethicsprogrammes,andeachoftheNationalReportscontainanexampleoftheadditionalrequirementsplacedonmanagersbyacompanyfromthatcountry.

Management responses to the continental Europe survey

Becauseoftheimportanceoftheroleofmanagersinembeddingcorporateethics,theresponsesofthoseinpositionsofmanagementwerecomparedwiththoseofnon-managersforeachofthequestionsintheContinentalEuropesurvey.ThesubsequentanalysissuggeststhatmanagersincontinentalEuropearemoreengagedwithethicsintheworkplacethannon-managers.Theyarefoundtohaveahigherlevelofawarenessofthreeofthefourelementsofacorporateethicsprogrammetested(speakupline,advice/informationhelplinesandethicstraining),aswellasincentivesprovidedbytheirorganisationtoencourageethicalbehaviourintheworkplace,specifically, publiccommendations.

Figure 10 Manager / non-manager comparison, Continental Europe (2015)

It is by following

good practice

when operating

in the grey areas

not covered by the

law that leaders

demonstrate both

their capabilities and

their character.

‘‘

13%22%

* not a statistically significant difference base(Managers,non-managers)=728,2272

24%

23%

45%48%37% 26%

25%


35%

Managers in

continental

Europe are more

aware of support

for ethics in the

workplace than

non-managers

i

*

34%

17%

Managers Non-Managers

(Q7) Awareness of elements of a formal ethics programme (‘yes’)

Code of ethics

Speak up line


Ethics training

(Q11) Provision of incentives (‘yes’)

(Q12) Types of incentives provided

Public commendation (e.g. employee awards)


Thesedifferencessuggestthateachoftheseelementsofanethicsprogrammeareinfactmorewidelyavailablethanisreportedinthisresearchoverall.ThisraisesaquestionofhoweffectivelyethicsprogrammesareembeddedincontinentalEuropeanorganisations.

Codesofethicsappeartobuckthistrend,andarethemosteffectivelyembeddedelementofanethicsprogrammewithnodiscernibledifferenceobservedintheresponseratesofmanagersandnon-managers.Thedifferenceforethicstrainingmayinpartbeexplainedbythepracticeofsomeorganisationswheremanagersaregivendifferenttrainingonethicstothatgiventonon-managers.Nevertheless,employeesatalllevelsshouldbegivensomeformofethicstrainingtosupporttheminethicaldecision-making.Thegreaterawarenessofincentives,especially‘soft’incentivessuchaspubliccommendation,furthersuggeststhatthesearenotcommonpracticeincontinentalEuropeanorganisations,andarenotwellknownbyemployees.

Manyorganisationsfindthatitisarealchallengetoembedpracticesespousedbytheboardconsistentlyacrossalllevelsofemployees.Thisisespeciallytrueatthe‘squeezedmiddle’.Atthislevel,avarietyofpressuresandexpectations,whetherimplicitorexplicit,coalescetocreateaformofethical‘permafrost’,wheremessagesaboutethicsfailtopenetrate.36Somecompanieshavebeguntointroducemanagementtoolkitstohelpempowerandequiptheirmanagersincascadingethicalmessagesthroughouttheorganisation.Box3illustratestheapproachtakenbyonesuchcompany.

Box 3 Case Study: Rolls-Royce 37

Codes of ethics

appear to be the

most effectively

embedded element

of an ethics

programme.

‘‘

36IBEGoodPracticeGuide(2015)Communicating Ethical Values Internally.AvailabletopurchasefromtheIBEwebsite.

37Casestudyamendedfromp44 Communicating Ethical Values Internally(above).

RollsRoyce,theglobalpowersystemscompany,hasdevelopedaManagers’Toolkitwhichaimstoprovidemanagerswiththetoolsrequiredtostimulatemeaningfuldiscussionsaboutethicalissues,aswellasprocessesfordealingwithethicaldilemmas.TheToolkitisaphysicalboxwhichcontainsdilemmasandfacilitationprompts,anditcanbeaddedtoovertimewithfollowupmaterials.Thecontentisalsoavailableelectronically.

Threetimesayear,managersareaskedtoutiliseadifferentdilemmabasedactivitywiththeirteams.

Activity1helpswiththeidentificationofanethicaldilemmaandinvolvesadiscussiononhowtoresolveit.Managersareprovidedwithabankof30scenarios,on‘dilemmacards’,basedonreallifeexamples,andgivenguidanceastowhichonesmightbemostappropriatefortheirteam.

Activity2seekstobringethicsclosertohome,withdiscussionson localandrelevantdilemmasidentifiedbytheteam,andtheeffecttheymighthave.



Activity3isthemostchallenging.Operatingonfeedbackfromemployees,itfocusesonhighlightingthepositiveoutcomesofdilemmas.Oftendilemmas,andtheirconsequences,canbeseenasnegative:reporttheissue,losethebusiness,loseacolleague.Tocounteractthis,teamsareaskedtoidentifypositiveoutcomesthatcanarisefromtheresolutionofadilemma,forexample,processchangeorimprovedrelationships.Thishelpstobringtolifethepowerofethicaldecision-makingtochangeoutcomesforthebetter.

Box 3 Case Study: Rolls-Royce continued

Perceptions of continental European managers of ethics at work

Figure 11 Manager / non-manager comparison, Continental Europe (2015)

Managers Non-Managers


(Q5) Did you raise your concerns?* (‘yes’)



My line manager supports me in following my organisation’s standards of ethical behaviour



Responsible business conductMy organisation acts responsibly in all its business dealings (with customers, clients, suppliers, etc.)


Enforcement of ethical standardsMy organisation disciplines employees who violate my organisation’s ethical standards

base(Managers,non-managers)=728,2272

* only those who said that they were aware of misconduct (at Q3) responded to this question. base (Managers, non-managers) = 227, 748

67%

49%

49%

48%

42%

38%

40%

41%

38%

79%

59%

53%

54%

55%

52%

65%

64%

61%


Managers in

continental

Europe are more

positive in their

perceptions

of workplace

ethics than non-

managers

i


NotonlyaremanagersincontinentalEuropemoreawareofsupportforethicsatworkthannon-managementemployees,theyarealsofoundtobemorepositiveintheirperceptionsofworkplaceethics,andmorewillingtoraisetheirconcernswhentheybecomeawareofmisconduct.ContinentalEuropeanmanagersarealsomorelikelytothinkthathonestyispractisedalwaysorfrequentlyintheirorganisation,andagreewitheachoftheindicatorsofanethicalcultureatahigherlevelthannon-managers.

These differences suggest that there is more that organisations in continental Europe could do to embed their ethics policies throughout their organisations effectively. Whileacausallinkcannotbeestablishedhere,italsosuggeststhatcontinentalEuropeanorganisationsaremissingoutonanumberofthebenefitsassociatedwithcorporateethicsprogrammesduetothislackofawareness.Increasingawarenessmaythenresultinthemorepositiveperceptionsheldbymanagersbeingreflectedmorewidelythroughoutorganisations.

Inaddition,lookingjustatthethreeindicatorsofanethicalculturerelatedtolinemanagers,managersofmanagersappeartobethemostethical.Thefactthatmanagersaremorelikelythannon-managerstosaythattheirownmanager‘setsagoodexampleofethicalbusinessbehaviour’,‘supportsmeinfollowingmyorganisation’sstandardsofethicalbehaviour’,and‘explainstheimportantofhonestyandethicsintheworkwedo’suggeststhis.Non-managersarenotaspositive,anddonotagreewiththestatementstothesameextentformiddle-management/linemanagers.

InBritain,thesedifferenceswerenotfound.

However,resultsfromtheBritishsurveyappeartosuggestthat,thegapbetweenwhatmanagerssayandwhattheydoisgrowing,andthatgoodresultsarebeginningtotakeprecedenceoverethicsforsomemanagers.In2015,Britishemployeesaremorelikelytosaythattheirlinemanagerexplainstheimportanceofhonestyandethicsintheworktheydo,buttheyarealsomorelikelytosaythattheyrewardgoodresults,evenifethicallyquestionablepracticesareused(seeFigure21onpage32oftheBritishReport).AnecdotalevidencefromIBEsubscriberswouldsuggestthatworkisunderwayto addressthis.

Continental

European

organisations are

missing out on

a number of the

benefits associated

with corporate

ethics programmes.

‘‘



Summary and ConclusionEthicsatworkhasneverbeenmorerelevantthanitisatpresent.However,ensuringeffectiveemployeeengagementremainsachallenge.TheviewsofemployeesinBritain,France,Germany,ItalyandSpainhaveallchangedintheirownuniquewaysincetheIBElastconductedthisresearchin2012.

Fiveconsistentthemesfromtheresearchhavebeenexploredinthisreport.ThefirstthreeapplytoboththeBritishandContinentalEuropeversionsofthesurvey.ThefinaltwoapplyonlytotheContinentalEuroperesearch.

Thesethemeswere:

Employee awareness of corporate ethics programmes increases ethical awareness and perceptions of ethical culture.

TheresultsofthesurveysshowthatinbothBritainandcontinentalEurope,awarenessofcorporateethicsprogrammesincreasestheethicalawarenessofemployeesandtheirperceptionsofethicalculture.Inbothsurveys,employeesinorganisationswhichprovideacodeofethics,aspeakupline,advice/informationhelplinesandethicstraining,aremorelikelytosaythathonestyispracticedalways/frequentlyintheirorganisation,arelesslikelytohavebeenawareofmisconductintheprecedingyearandaremorelikelytoagreewitheachoftheindicatorsofanethicalculture.

Younger employees expect more of their employers regarding responsible business conduct.

FindingsfromboththeBritishandcontinentalEuropeansurveyssuggestthatwhencomparedwitholderemployees(aged55+),youngeremployees(aged16-34)arefoundtoposesomethingofaconundrumtotheiremployers.Whiletheyaremorelikelytobeawareof,orengagedwith,elementsofanethicsprogramme,theyarealsolesslikelytoagreewiththestatementsrelatedtoresponsiblebusinessconduct.Thisseeminglygreaterconcernforwiderstakeholderssuggeststhattheyexpecttheiremployerstohaveanincreasinglyexternaloutlookonthewayinwhichitconductsitsbusiness.

Conducting personal activities at work is seen to be more acceptable than other potentially unethical practices.

Attitudestocertainworkplacepracticesaregenerallyobservedtobesimilaracrossthecountriessurveyed.Ingeneral,attitudesofemployeestendtobemorelenienttowardsconductingpersonalactivitiesduringworkhours,thanotherpractices.Thismaybeindicativeofthechangingnatureofthe21stcenturyworkplacewherethelinesbetweenworkandhomearebecomingincreasinglyblurred.

39 2015 IBE Ethics at Work Survey: Main Findings and ThemesSummaryandConclusion

Employees in continental Europe are now more sensitive to ethical issues in their workplace

InthecontinentalEuropeancountriessurveyed,thefindingssuggestthatemployeesarenowmoresensitivetoethicalissuesintheworkplacethantheywerein2012.OverthesethreeyearsthelevelofawarenessofmisconducthasincreasedineachofGermany,ItalyandSpain(inFranceithasremainedconsistent).Atthesametime,theproportionofemployeeswhohavefeltpressuredtocompromisetheirorganisation’sstandardsofethicalconducthasdecreasedinallfourofthesecountries.TheseobservationssuggestthatcontinentalEuropeanemployeesarenowmoreabletoidentifymisconduct,evenwhentheyarenotpersonallyinvolved.

ThiswasnotfoundtobethecaseintheBritishsurvey.

Managers in continental Europe have a greater awareness of support for ethics at work than non-managers

CorporatemessagesregardingsupportforethicsatworkappeartostruggletogetbeyondthemanagementlevelincontinentalEuropeanorganisations.ManagersinFrance,Germany,ItalyandSpainreportahigherlevelofawarenessofspeakuplines,advice/informationhelplines,ethicstrainingandincentivestoencourageethicalbehaviourthannon-managersdo.ThissuggeststhatthecoreelementsofacorporateethicsprogrammearenoteffectivelyembeddedincontinentalEuropeanorganisations.Codesofethics,ontheotherhand,seemtobebetterembeddedwithnosignificantdifferenceinawarenesslevelsbetweenmanagersandnon-managers.

ManagersincontinentalEuropeanorganisationsalsoseemtohaveamorepositiveexperienceofethicsintheworkplacethannon-managers.Theyaremorelikelytosaythathonestyispractisedalways/frequentlyintheirorganisations,saytheyaremorewillingtoraisetheirconcernswhentheybecomeawareofmisconduct,andaremorelikelytoagreewitheachoftheindicatorsofanethicalculturetestedfor.Whileacausallinkcannotbeestablishedhere,italsosuggeststhatcontinentalEuropeanorganisationsaremissingoutonanumberofthebenefitsofcorporateethicsprogrammesduetotheselowerlevelsofawarenessamongstnon-managers.

Aswiththefourththeme,thisonlyappliesincontinentalEurope.SuchdifferenceswerenotfoundintheBritishsurvey.

Stakeholder expectations on all organisations are now higher than ever before. The insights provided by this research can help organisations address the gap between what they say they do, and what occurs in practice in their own organisations (the ‘say/do gap’). It should also encourage organisations that ‘doing business ethically makes for better business’.

40 2015 IBE Ethics at Work Survey: Main Findings and ThemesSummaryandConclusion

41 IBE Ethics at Work Survey 2015: Main Findings and ThemesChapter

Appendix Methodologies and Respondent Profiles

ThisreportpresentsthefindingsofIpsosMORI’sandComRes’spublicresearchonbehalfoftheInstituteofBusinessEthics.

2015 IBE Ethics at Work: Continental Europe Survey - ComRes research

Thesurveywasconductedonline,inthenativelanguageofthecountrybeingsurveyed,andwhereappropriate,optionswithinquestionswere‘randomised’toavoidanyunduebiastheremayhavebeenwhenansweringpotentiallysensitivequestions.Itwascompletedbyatotalof3,000respondentsacrossfourcontinentalEuropeancountries,comprisedofarepresentativesampleof750workingadultsineachcountry,aged16+,between4-11March2015.Resultsincludebothfull-timeandpart-timeemployees,andwereweightedtotheprofilebelow.

2015 IBE Ethics at Work: British Survey - Ipsos MORI research

674face-to-faceinterviewswereconductedwithfull-timeworkersinGreatBritainasapartoftheIpsosMORICAPIBUSsurvey,between6-23 March2015.TheresultsareweightedsoastoberepresentativeoftheBritishfull-timeworkingpopulationaged16+.

AcopyoftheBritishandContinentalEuropeSurveyquestionnairescanbefoundinAppendix1oftherelevantNationalSurveyReports.

The full ComRes survey results can be found at www.comres.co.uk. ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council (BPC) and abides by its rules.

GEnDER AGE SECTOR MAnAGERS

Male Female 16-34 35-5455+ Public/Voluntary PrivateManagerNon-manager

Total number of respondents Continental Europe = 3,000

54% 46% 27% 56% 17% 33% 67% 24% 76%

Total number of respondents France = 750

52% 48% 31% 54% 15% 35% 65% 33% 67%

Total number of respondents Germany = 750

53% 47% 29% 50% 21% 36% 64% 16% 84%

Total number of respondents Italy = 750

59% 41% 22% 60% 18% 29% 71% 27% 73%

Total number of respondents Spain = 750

55% 45% 26% 59% 16% 32% 68% 21% 79%

Total number of British respondents = 674

61% 39% 39% 49% 12% 30% 69% 46% 54%

41 2015 IBE Ethics at Work Survey: Main Findings and ThemesAppendix

Statements from Survey Silver Supporters

Aviva

Trustisvitalforourbusiness,andwehavetoearnitintherightway.Weaskedourcustomers–whatmakesacompanyresponsibleandsustainable.Theirnumberonepriorityis“If you’re not ethical and transparent then anything else you do would not make up the gap”.Customerexpectations,quiterightly,areontherise,givingevenmorereasontogobeyondessentialcompliance. Attheheartofitallarerealpeopleworkinginaculturethathasahugeimpactonthewaytheybehave.Wealwaysstartwithourvalues–caremore,killcomplexity,createlegacyandneverrest.Theseguideouractionsbigandsmall.Nooneiscriticisedforlosingbusinessbyactingethically,orprejudicedfromreportingabreach.But,beyondthat,weneedtocreateanenvironmentwherewearepracticallyequippedandempoweredtomakereallygooddecisions.Thisdoesn’tjustsupportacompliantbusinessbutaninnovativeandsustainablebusiness,abletodeliverforcustomersandmakeapositivecontributioninsociety.

Avivaprovideslifeinsurance,generalinsurance,healthinsuranceandassetmanagementtoover30millioncustomers,across16marketsworldwide.IntheUK,wearetheleadinginsurerservingoneineveryfourhouseholdsandhavestrongbusinessesinselectedmarketsinEurope,AsiaandCanada.Avivahelpspeoplesaveforthefutureandmanagetherisksofeverydaylife.In2014,wepaidout£24.6billioninbenefitsandclaims.Byservingourcustomerswell,wearebuildingabusinesswhichisstrongandsustainable,whichourpeopleareproudtoworkfor,andwhichmakesapositivecontributiontosociety.

HSBC

Everybusinesshasresponsibilitiestoitscustomers,employeesandshareholders,andtothecommunitiesinwhichitoperates.AtHSBC,wewanttoensurethatouremployeesfeelempoweredtodotherightthingandweputgreatemphasisonourvaluesofbeingdependable,connectedandopen.

Westrivetobeanorganisationpeopleareproudtoworkforanddobusinesswith,andwhichisviewedasethicalbyallstakeholders.Thisiscrucialtofulfillingourpurposeasaninternationalbank.

HSBCisoneoftheworld’slargestbankingandfinancialservicesorganisations.Witharound6,100officesinbothestablishedandemergingmarkets,weaimtobewherethegrowthis,connectingcustomerstoopportunities,enablingbusinessestothriveandeconomiestoprosper,and,ultimately,helpingpeopletofulfiltheirhopesandrealisetheirambitions.

Weservearound48millioncustomersthroughourfourGlobalBusinesses:RetailBankingandWealthManagement,CommercialBanking,GlobalBankingandMarkets,andGlobalPrivateBanking.Ournetworkcovers72countriesandterritoriesinEurope,Asia,theMiddleEastandAfrica,NorthAmericaandLatinAmerica.

ListedontheLondon,HongKong,NewYork,ParisandBermudastockexchanges,sharesinHSBCHoldingsplcareheldbyabout213,000shareholdersin131countriesandterritories.



L’ORÉAL

Theprimaryobjectiveofanethicsprogrammeistobringaboutculturechange.Withoutsuchchangeinculture,youcannotexpectbehaviourstochangehowevermuchyouspendoncommunication,training,policiesorcontrolsystems.Fundamentally,youcannotforcepeopletoobeyethicalstandards,youneedtogetthemtobecomeproactiveactors/supporterssoitbecomespartoftheculture.Ethicsshouldbeabouthelpingpeoplemakegooddecisions,ratherthansimplyfinger-pointingbaddecisions.

Toknowifthiscultureshiftishappening,itisessentialtoregularlymeasureemployees’perceptiononafewkeypointssuchastheircomfortinspeakingup,whethertheyfeellistenedto,whethertheyfeelthattheircompanyrewardsgoodbehaviourandalsosanctionsmisconductwithoutanydoublestandard.

Asinanyculturechange,therearealwaysearlieradoptersbutwhatisimportantistoreachthetippingpointwherethereareenoughemployeeswhowanttokeeptheircompany‘clean’so thattheothersfeelstrongsocialpressureagainstgettingit‘dirty’.Andthegoodnewsforanymultinationalcompanyisthatthis approachworkswhereveryouoperatethroughouttheworld.

L’Oréalhasdevoteditselftobeautyforover105years.Withitsuniqueinternationalportfolioof32diverseandcomplementarybrands,theGroupgeneratedsalesamountingto22.5billioneurosin2014andemploys78,600peopleworldwide.Astheworld’sleadingbeautycompany,L’Oréalispresentacrossalldistributionnetworks:massmarket,departmentstores,pharmaciesanddrugstores,hairsalons,travelretailandbrandedretail.Researchandinnovation,andadedicatedresearchteamof3,700people,areatthecoreofL’Oréal’sstrategy,workingtomeetbeautyaspirationsallovertheworldandattractonebillionnewconsumersintheyearstocome.L’Oréal’sambitionistobeanexemplarycompanyworldwideandintegrateethicsintotheveryheartofitsbusinesspractices.

Orange

To‘bringthebestofdigitaltechnologytothegreatestnumberandmakeOrangetheoperatorofchoice’cannotbedonewithoutstrictethicalstandards.

Thefullsetofprinciplesofactionandrulesofbehaviourguideeachofourpeople,intheirday-to-daywork.Ithelpstoinstiltrust–inemployees,customers,suppliers,shareholdersandallotherstakeholders.

Thecodeofethicsisthecornerstone,itspellsfourcommitmentstorespect,integrity,qualityandteamspirit,withacertainnumberofindividualbehaviouralprinciplestowhicheachofthestakeholdersmustadhereintheirprofessionalactivity.

AGroup-wideawareness-raisingprogrammehelpsmanagerstostrengthenthegroup’sethicsapproach.Aneducationprogrammeontheprinciplesofindividualbehaviourandactionisavailablethroughethicse-learningprogrammes,bothatGrouplevelandineachentityorcountry,tohelptaketheseprinciplesonboard.

Inaprofessionalcontext,ethicsandresponsibilityaretrulyeveryone’sconcern.

Orangeisoneoftheworld’sleadingtelecommunicationsoperators,withoperationsin29countries,andaleadingprovideroftelecommunicationservicestomultinationalcompanies.

Positioningitselfasadynamiccompanythatisefficient,responsibleanddigitallyproficient.

TheGrouphasintegrateddigitaltoolssuchasBigData,thecloudandopenAPIs.

Andwillcontinuetooperatewithintheframeworkofastrongethicalpolicythataccountsforchangingsocialandenvironmentalfactors.

Orange’sambitionisbasedonastrongcommitmenttoprovidecustomerswithanunmatchedexperience,sothattheywillbeabletobenefitfromthedigitalrevolution.


Total

Ourethicsprogrammehasbeeninplaceformanyyears,butwestillhavetocontinuallyupdatematerialsandcommunication,andworkonimprovingthewaywetreatcertaintopics.

Consequently,inrecenttimes,wehaveupdatedourCodeofConduct,ourBusinessIntegrityGuideandourHumanRightsGuide.Thisyear,wehavelaunchedanewtrainingmoduleforAnti-Fraud,anditwillbefollowedbynewtrainingmaterialsforAnti-Corruptionandgeneralethicschallengesinthecomingmonths.Wehavespecificworkinggroupsimprovingduediligenceinthesupplychain.WealsonowhaveacomprehensivenetworkofComplianceandEthicsOfficers.

Themainongoingchallengeishowtomaketheeffortssustainablebymaintainingthisdynamicapproach.Wecontinuetoencouragespeakingupdespitetheconcernsofsomeemployeesandotherstakeholdersaboutthis.Webelievethattherightapproachistotalkaboutbuildingsustainablegrowthandcreatingvalueforallourstakeholders,ratherthanconcentratingonproblemsandrisksforthecompany.Thispositiveapproachispartofourcommitmenttobetterenergy.

Totalisoneofthelargestintegratedoilandgascompaniesintheworld,withactivitiesinmorethan130countries.Its100,000employeesputtheirexpertisetoworkineverypartoftheindustry–explorationandproductionofoilandnaturalgas,refining,chemicals,marketingandnewenergies.Totalisworkingtohelpsatisfytheglobaldemandforenergy,bothtodayandtomorrow.

RBS

RBShasaclearambitiontobenumberoneforcustomerservice,trustandadvocacyineachofourchosenbusinessareasby2020.

Deliveryofourambitiondependsinlargepartonourabilitytodemonstratebeyondquestionthatwearearesponsiblecompanydoingbusinessinasustainableway.

WeknowthatRBSexistsinasectorthatfaceshugechallengesandneedstochange,andwe’recommittedtoplayingaleadershiprole.Inrecentyearswe’vechangedourbusinesspracticesonarangeofissuestomakebankingfairerforourcustomersandourcommunities.

Wehaveaboard-levelSustainableBankingCommitteedealingwithmattersofethics,reputationandtrust,includingculturalchange.ThepriorityoftheCommitteeistoassessandencouragetheworkoftheexecutiveteaminbuildingabankthatputscustomers’interestsfirstandembedssustainablebankingintoeverythingthatwedo.

RBSisaUK-basedbankingandfinancialservicescompany,headquarteredinEdinburgh. Weprovideawiderangeofproductsandservicestopersonal,commercialandcorporateandinstitutionalcustomersthroughourbrandsincludingRoyalBankofScotland,NatWest,UlsterBankandCoutts. Wehaveasingle,simplepurpose–toservecustomerswell.Thisisatthecoreofourambitiontobuildabankknownforitsconsistent,highqualitycustomerservice. Wewanttobetrusted,respectedandvaluedbyourcustomers,shareholdersandcommunities.



Related IBE Publications

IBEpublicationsprovidethoughtleadershipandpracticalguidancetothoseinvolvedin developingandpromotingbusinessethics,includingseniorbusinesspeopleandethicsandcompliancepractitioners.

Somerecentpublicationsrelatedtothistopicwhichyoumightbeinterestedininclude:

Board Briefing: Checking Culture: a new role for internal auditPeter Montagnon

Caninternalaudithelpaboardunderstandhowthecompany’scultureisembeddedinawaythataffectsbehaviourthroughouttheorganisation?Whatneedstobedonedifferentlyorbettertohelpensurethatthisisthecase?ThisIBEBoardBriefinglooksattheroleofinternalauditinadvisingboardsonwhetheracompanyislivinguptoitsethicalvalues.Itdrawsonthepracticalexperienceofthoseactuallyinvolvedatseniorlevelinsixcompaniesrepresentingawiderangeofsectorsandsizes.Inaseriesofinterviews,AuditCommitteechairs,headsofinternalauditandheadsofethicsandcompliancetalkdirectlyabouthowtheyhaveapproachedthechallengeofcheckingculture.

Report: Setting the Tone: ethical business leadershipPhilippa Foster Back CBE

Leadershipisessentialtobusinessethics,asethicalqualitiesareessentialtogoodleadership.Thisreportdemonstratesthatbusinessleadersshouldconsiderethicalcompetenceasacorepartoftheirbusinessacumenandprovidesguidancetothosewishingtobuildacultureoftrustandaccountabilityandstrengthentheethicalaspirationsoftheirorganisation.Itincludesinterviewswithbusinessleadersofferingpracticalinsightsintoethicalleadershipissues.

IBE Good Practice Guide: Surveying Staff on Ethical Matters Katherine Bradshaw, Andrea Werner & nicole Dando

Howcanorganisationsusestaffsurveystotaketheirethicaltemperatureandassesstheefficacyoftheirethicsprogrammes?Thisguideoutlinesthedifferentmethodsforsurveyingstaffonethicalmattersandconsidershowtomaximisetheeffectivenessofsurveys.Alistofquestionsthatcompaniescanusetoasktheirstaffaboutethicalmattersisprovided,includingtheIBE’s12benchmarkstaffsurveyquestions.

For details of all IBE publications and resources visit our website www.ibe.org.uk





Ethics at Work2015SurveyofEmployeesMain Findings and Themes

Employee views are a key indicator of the ethical temperature in today’s organisations.

Whatdoemployeesthinkabouttheethicalbusinesspracticesoftheiremployer?Whatdotheyconsiderethicalbehaviour?Andhowmuchsupportdotheygetto‘dotherightthing’?

TheInstituteofBusinessEthicshasconductedaregularsurveyintoemployees’viewsofethicsatworkinBritainsince2005.ThesurveyhassincebeenwidenedtoincludeFrance,Germany,ItalyandSpain,givingadditionalinsightsintoethicsatworkincontinentalEurope.

Thisreportpresentsfivekeythemeswhichemergedfromthe2015IBEEthicsatWorkSurveyintoemployeeviewsofethicsatworkrelatingtoemployeeawareness;thedifferencebetweenmanagersandnon-managers;theimpactofethicsprogrammes;andtheexperienceofyoungeremployees.

ThesefindingswillhelpthosewithaninterestinbusinessethicstounderstandboththecontinentalEuropeanandBritishlandscapesinbusinessethics,fromtheperspectiveofemployees,in2015.

ISBn 978-1-908534-16-3 Availableatwww.ibe.org.uk

ethics at work 2015 survey of employees main findings … · survey survey published by ethics at...

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