Society Conditions Us to Be Unethical

Article By: Terry Clancy – www.OnwardEducation.com

Don't be a rat.  Don't be a whistleblower.  Don't be a tattletale.  These are things everyone has heard time and time again while growing up in our society.  As children our parents tried to teach us right from wrong.  They spent months and years drilling into us how we should act and the consequences if we do the wrong thing.  And isn't that how we as parents are teaching our own children?

This can be very confusing for a child.  Often times when a child sees another doing something they have been taught is wrong, they will tell a teacher or a parent.  The other children then label him/her a tattletale.  Peer pressure is often more powerful than the parent's instructions, so what does the child do the next time he/she sees another doing something wrong?  They stay silent and look the other way. 

This idea is reinforced throughout our lives.  Just look at many movies and television shows.  It's a very popular scenario; a character on the wrong side of the law is made out to be a hero.  There's a code that you do not “rat” anyone out.  Now, I'm not suggesting that we stop watching these shows.  In fact, I like them as much as the rest of you, but we need to be clear on how to act in actual situations in our own lives.

What did you do the last time you saw a co-worker do something considered by your company to be unethical?  Did you confront them or report their behavior?  Or, did you look the other way?  These are difficult and uncomfortable questions because we've all been in this situation.  None one is 100% ethical in every aspect of their lives.  We're all human and it's impossible to be perfect.  With that said, what we need to strive for is to increase the percentage of times when we are doing the ethical thing.  Through continued exposure to ethical discussion and training it will be possible to close the gap between our current percentage and 100%. 

It also seems to have become acceptable in our society to engage in unethical behavior if after having been caught you apologize.  Now it helps if you seem sincere in your apology, but that's not always necessary.  It really says a lot that people are willing to forgive such large transgressions, but where are the consequences for unethical actions?  Even as a child you were punished for wrong doing.

Besides societal conditioning, the other major reason why people act unethically is fear.  People are afraid of losing their jobs.  For instance, perhaps they know of a boss's unethical behavior.  Others fear confronting someone engaging in unethical behavior.  They would rather stay quiet and in their comfort zone.  Some people just don't know the right thing to do, so they look the other way.  We need to look beyond the conditioning and fear and look to what is right for your company and your community.  Doing the ethical thing is not the equivalent of being a rat, whistleblower, or a tattletale.  Doing the ethical thing will pay big dividends in life and at work.  In this depressed economy, we need all the tools in our toolbox to stay in business.  Ethical behavior by a company will keep customers coming back and draw new customers to you. 

For more information on ethics training for your employees please visit; www.OnwardEducation.com.

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