According to a 2004 survey of 1,200 people conducted by Watson Wyatt Worldwide as part of its ongoing WorkUSA® Study, “62% of those who question top management’s integrity cite (hypocrisy and favoritism)” as the main issues, while only 8% cite unethical financial dealings.

“While most employees do not believe there are concrete ethical breaches in the workplace, some clearly feel compromised by day-to-day hypocrisy and broken promises,” the report’s Executive Summary noted.

Overall, 72% of employees surveyed indicated “their immediate bosses behave with honesty and integrity.” But the numbers start to slip fast when it comes to the ethical behavior of co-workers (60%) and senior management (56%).

Only 9% of employees reported that “the demands of work ‘almost always’ or ‘often’ put pressure on them to do things that conflict with what they think is right.”

Our informal CareerThink poll echoed these results. Last month, we asked you: How would you handle it if your organization or boss asked you to do something ethically questionable?

The low number of responses we received to this question indicated relatively few of you have been put in such a position. Of those who did respond, the vast majority answered theoretically that you would “just say no” – but did not answer from personal experience.

Like this response from Susan …

"I would take the problem to a higher level and ask for support in handling the matter in the best way possible.  I work for a telecommunications company and we have very high standards issued by the FCC to adhere to, plus our own reputation in the business community to protect.  Even if I were asked by my superior to behave in an unethical manner, I know that in the “big picture” perspective, operating in this way would not be in the best interests for our company.  The results of the behavior at Enron and a few other companies caught in unethical behavior has cost their companies millions in the long run and the pensions of many loyal workers were ransacked of their worth.  If someone at some point far sooner had blown the whistle they would have been much better off.  We all need to take a stand personally to stop unethical behavior in our business world and set a high standard to operate by."

Wanda’s answer was also typical of our readers’ responses:

"I would have to say, ‘ I’m sorry, I can’t do that’ with an explanation of why I considered it to be unethical.  If my boss was not able to accept that (or to adequately explain why the desired action was not unethical) I would gladly look for a position in another company.  Keeping my integrity and being able to look in the mirror with a clear conscience is worth more to me than any particular job. In my present position, I have already let it be known that 'I won’t lie to you.  I won't lie  for you.’  The president of the company and my department manager know that I am an honest, ethical person, and I do not expect to be asked to do anything that is unethical."

However, a couple of readers shared first-hand experiences of the high price they paid to refuse to take part in flagrant (and illegal) violations of business ethics, like the Missouri woman who walked away from nearly two decades of job seniority and benefits to maintain her integrity:

"I worked for an unscrupulous boss several years ago.  I worked for a utility, and my boss asked me to ignore the fact that he routinely changed numbers, or put out an inferior product.  I tried to go to the director above him, and even made a call to the regulatory agency, but nothing was done.  I transferred out of his department.  Ten years later, due to restructuring, he was going to be my boss again.  I left the utility.  It wasn’t an easy choice, to leave 18 years seniority and benefits behind, to start over somewhere else, in another town.  I still don’t regret leaving, and I don’t have to worry about working for someone I don’t respect."

Another professional who once worked for an unethical business owner reported that this dishonest behavior eventually led to the owner’s financial and personal ruin: 

"I actually ran into this problem on a former job.  My boss (who was also the owner) wanted me to falsify insurance claims …. I flat out refused to do so.  One, I thought it completely unethical, not to mention illegal.  Two, I did not want my signature and/or writing on any incriminating documents in the event he were to get caught. My boss was irate that I was refusing to do as he asked.  He eventually falsified the claims himself.

I was ultimately fired a few months later because I refused to file for unemployment when I was not unemployed.  He wanted me to file so he could save money by paying me the difference between unemployment and my normal wage. 

He eventually lost his business, his money and his house.  Everything he owned had to be sold to pay off business debts.  He had also, unbeknownst to his wife, drained their retirement accounts to cover business debts.  They literally had to move to a new state and start their lives from scratch.  He also lost his health.  He reaped what he sowed."

Roger offered a unique “test” for determining whether a workplace issue is unethical:

"I approach these requests this way, If my grandmother was informed of the request that I carried out, would she be proud to tell her bridge club about the request?  I generally tell the requestor the action … is unethical and goes against my own personal and professional integrity.  I allow the requestor to either change the request or reformulate the request instead.  My flat answer to how I would handle a request if my organization or boss asks me to do something ethically questionable is to say, No, and provide alternatives to him/her."

Another reader, Tony, stressed the importance of a written ethics policy for every organization:

"Business ethics are the behaviors that your employer would want you to exhibit as a representative of the company.  These are outlined in your company’s Ethics Policy or Ethics Manual.  If your company does not have such a policy, get one! Without this document, people do not know the expectations of the company.  A good rule to remember about ethics is if you have a question, ask your ethics officer or a person in management.  In the long run, a company that behaves in an ethical manner and employs ethical people will have greater financial success. (Remember the outcome of the Johnson & Johnson Tylenol recall vs. the Bridgestone/Firestone Tire recall?)"

In the WorkUSA 2004 survey cited earlier, 77% of employees either “strongly agreed” or “agreed” that their organization had clearly communicated its ethics policy. However, 52% believed “a person reporting unethical behavior would be labeled a ‘troublemaker,’” while only 19% disagreed with that statement.

Diane’s proactive organization invests in ethics training for employees:

"The company that I work for is very serious about ethics.  We have ethics training every year and are trained what is ethical and what is unethical business behavior.  If we are asked by anyone, including our boss, to do something unethical, we have an ethics hotline to call to report it.  Unethical behavior can result in loss of job."