Workers value salary over company ethics

Millions of workers would turn a blind eye to a company’s ethics as long as the salary was good, according to a new study.

A survey of 2000 employed adults in the UK found that 36% would rather work for a company that paid them more over one whose morals they agreed with.

The study also found that a third of Brits have taken a sick day in the last two years when they weren’t really ill. Shockingly one in 10 said that every sick day they’ve taken in the last two years has been false. Men were also more likely than women to take a sick day when they’re not genuinely sick (36% of men compared to 30% of women).

Despite all of this, nine out of 10 people say they do uphold ethical standards in their workplace.

Adam Harper, spokesman for AAT (Association of Accounting Technicians), who commissioned the report, said: “Ethics is a grey area for many people, with Britons demonstrating a range of responses to what they consider ‘ethical behaviour’ in their professional lives.

“It’s important for long-term success for businesses and their employees to be ethical; even small things like employees taking sick days when they’re not ill can build up and waste time and money.

“Some of the results also show that many employees disagree with practises some businesses in the UK carry out. Managers need to be aware that getting a reputation for unethical behaviour could lead to demotivated staff and have a negative impact on their business.”

One respondent to the study said that their company made fantastic profits that could have been passed on as savings to the customer but weren’t. And one, who worked in food services, reported on their management removing sell-by-dates from food to extend its shelf life.

Almost a quarter of people in the study had worked somewhere with ethical practices they didn’t agree with, although only 13% of these people left the job because of it. 56% would continue to work for a company that avoided paying tax, and 14% said they currently work somewhere with managers or senior staff members that they believe are dishonest in their company’s tax returns.

In other results from the study, almost a fifth of Britons said that they have applied for a new job while sitting at their desk in their current one, while 78% think nothing of using company time to make personal phone calls or browse non-work-related websites.

Adam Harper continued: “62% of our respondents said they don’t think they were paid enough for the work they do, and so many could have used this as an excuse for carrying out some unethical behaviour. However, this doesn’t justify some of the less ethical behaviours highlighted by the survey respondents. Regardless of how employees see their company’s practises, they should be responsible for their own ethical behaviour.”