Research and results: A look at current trends and data
| Date | 21 October 2007 |
| Published date | 21 October 2007 |
| Pages | 14-15 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14754390980000995 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
14 Volume 6 Issue 5 July/August 2007
RESEARCH AND RESULTS
,
A look at current trends and data
percent of workers cite high levels of
stress (28 percent), long hours (25
percent) and inflexible schedule (13
percent) as the causes of conflict
between their work responsibilities and
personal priorities, and hence
contributors to work/life imbalance.
Sixty percent believe that job
dissatisfaction is a leading reason why
people make unethical decisions at work,
and 55 percent ranked a flexible work
schedule among the top three factors
leading to job satisfaction, second only to
compensation (63 percent).
Employed adults rank the behavior
of management (42 percent) and direct
supervisors (36 percent) as the top two
factors contributing to the promotion
of an ethical workforce. The survey
shows that the reinforcement of
criminal penalties and ethics training
may do little to deter unethical
behavior at work. Allen comments:
“Management and leadership have a
huge responsibility in setting examples
for their organizations and living the
values they preach if they want to
sustain a culture of ethics.”
,
,
A
ccording to the findings of the
2007 Deloitte & Touche USA Ethics
and Workplace Survey, there’s a
strong relationship between work/life
balance and positive ethical behavior at
work. The survey also showed that the
behaviors of management and direct
supervisors, coupled with positive
reinforcement for ethical behavior, are
the top factors for promoting ethical
behavior in the workplace.
Sharon Allen, chairman of the board at
Deloitte & Touche USA, says: “In the
competitive environment to attract and
retain talent, it’s imperative that
employers provide employees with the
means to attain a healthy work/life
balance. This is not only key to job
satisfaction and retaining your most
valued employees, but it is also critical in
fostering an ethical workplace culture.
“When you think about it, if someone
invests all of their time and energy into
their job, it may have the unintended
consequence of making them dependent
on their job for everything – including
their sense of personal worth. This makes
it even harder to make a good choice
when faced with an ethical dilemma if
they believe it will impact their
professional success.”
Making the link
The survey results show that 91 percent
of all employed adults agree that
workers are more likely to behave
ethically at work when they have a
good work/life balance. A combined 44
Strong link between work/life balance and ethical behavior
Management behavior meets expectations half of the time
Five major HR challenges ahead for organizations in Europe
Few leadership development opportunities for women
This online survey was carried out by
Harris Interactive on behalf of Deloitte &
Touche USA in February 2007.It
researched 1,041 US adults of 18 years
of age or older who are employed full-
time and/or part-time. For more
information, visit www.deloitte.com
MORE INFORMATION
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M
anagement behavior meets
employee expectations around
50 percent of the time, says a
study from Krauthammer International
into the behavior employees seek, and
experience, from their managers.
The biggest gaps between employee
expectations and reality were:
• 95 percent would like their manager to
analyze their task problems together
with them; 41 percent experience this.
• 86 percent would like their manager to
create the right context prior to
implementing a decision; this is the
case 42 percent of the time.
• 82 percent would like their manager to
listen to their ideas and encourage
them to continue; 56 percent
experience this.
Managers were closer in meeting
expectations in the following areas:
• Spontaneously admitting mistakes.
• Being fully involved in the definition of
their development goals.
• Arbitrating conflicts.
,
,
Krauthammer International is a European
consulting, training and coaching
organization. The company surveyed
people from a variety of industry sectors
to research the behavior employees seek
from their managers and, in return,
experience. For more information,visit
www.krauthammer.com
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© Melcrum publishing 2007.For more information visit our website www.melcrum.com or e-mail info@melcrum.com
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