Are Most Companies Ethical Cesspools?

In a word, "yes." In more words, "it's more complicated than that." Welcome to moral decoupling.

Ethics in the workplace is a tricky issue. I think we all know, logically, that if you’re higher up a chain or hierarchy, you’re not beholden to the same rules, regulations, and even processes as the rest of us target-chasers down the line. You’re closer to more money, more perks, more rewards, and more of generally the good stuff. (Yes, there’s also more responsibility and falling from a higher perch hurts more no matter the context.) No matter how you view the intersection of ‘formal power’ and ‘authority’ and ‘the rules and processes’ of a place, it’s hard to argue that the top dogs don’t get a few examples of leeway now and again. Interestingly, in a way, this whole thing is why e-mail is such a goddamn boondoggle all the time.

Alright, so. Are we about to talk about absolute power corrupting absolutely in the context of ethics in the workplace? Not exactly. But we may get close.

Ethics in the workplace and moral norms

Most of society at an individual-to-individual level is built around moral norms, specifically reciprocity. Here’s the easiest way to think about that: if you walk past someone on the street and nod/smile, you expect some type of acknowledgment of that in return. We’re social beings and that’s how we roll.

Now, this idea of reciprocity doesn’t really exist at the corporate level — and most moral norms don’t either. There’s documented research on all this. Look at this article by Liz Ryan over at Forbes entitled “My Performance Review Was Outstanding — And Then I Got Fired.” You don’t even need to read the article; the title says it all. It happens all the time at companies. It comes from an idea, which is somewhat defined legally within the concept of a corporation, that people don’t matter — the bottom line does. This is why we over-focus on products and processes, and mostly lip-service the idea of “talent” or “human capital.” (If we cared about those things, wouldn’t Human Resources be empowered as something more than a cover-your-ass department by now?)

So this is Tier 1 of ethics in the workplace: companies don’t have any obligation to behave according to the moral norms that guide most of our daily interactions. That’s a problem, eh?

Ethics in the workplace and moral decoupling