Office Ethics:

2008 survey results give a bird’s-eye view of a decade of ethical ups
and downs for administrative professionals.

2008 survey results give a bird’s-eye view of a decade of ethical ups and downs
for administrative professionals.

Just in time for Administrative Professionals Week, the Nan DeMars/IAAP 2008 Office Ethics Survey results are in! Our first joint survey was launched in 1995 when issues of office ethics were barely on the radar screen. Right on the heels of an avalanche of corporate ethics scandals – from Arthur Anderson to Enron – our 2003 survey showed that office ethics were top-of-mind from the breakroom to the boardroom.

Although awareness was high, ethics training remained haphazard. Trends were promising, but uncertain. Now, more than a decade after the first survey was taken, the latest results give us a fantastic view of ethics trends, thanks to you, the administrative professionals who participated across the US and Canada.

One thing remains true no matter what the year is or which “hot” ethical issue rules the day: You are the ones on the front lines of ethics issues in the workplace. I have always known that if you want to take the pulse of ethics in offices, you have to talk to the people who make things happen on a daily basis. Administrative professionals have the keenest barometers for measuring ethical climates. You are acutely aware of ethical issues and profoundly impacted by them. Thank you for your participation and helping us put together a vivid picture of where these issues stand today.

Jump-starting the ethical conversation

Not only are you on the front lines of office life, but one of the most important trends we’re noticing is that you are becoming more and more comfortable opening (or kicking open) the door to ethical conversations. You are now talking freely with your supervisors, observing and helping resolve unethical acts and promoting and actively participating in ethics training. I was thrilled to learn that 56% of respondents reported that their companies offer ethics training and 63% now offer a hotline and/or anonymous reporting system. The hotlines represent a giant leap, up from 47% in ’03.

Ethics training is a wonderful way to catalyze ethical conversations in the workplace. While 32% report that ethics training is online only, a whopping 50% report that employers are now investing in live training workshops. This is up from 47% in 2002, and reveals a golden principle in ethics training: while online training provides an excellent introduction and raises the level of awareness of what constitutes the ethical workplace, there is simply no substitute for lively discussions and interaction for those who are truly committed to creating long-lasting ethical environments. Participatory workshops are also unbeatable for creating workplace pride and uplifting employee morale.

The accountability factor

If there is one concrete trend that characterizes the evolution of office ethics, it’s accountability. Survey results make it crystal clear that admins understand their place in the accountability foodchain: Having watched Doug Faneuil, Executive Assistant to Martha Stewart’s broker, forced into testifying against his boss and his boss’s biggest client (Martha) in 2003, everyone suddenly realized by Nan DeMars CPS News From The Front Lines officePRO 29 it’s a new ball game. The days of being able to use the defense “my boss made me do it” are long gone. Admins understand that everyone is accountable as an individual, and that they too may one day find themselves on a witness stand with no one to take responsibility for their actions but themselves. A full 53% of you said you feel more accountable on the job today than ever before! Truly, accountability and integrity have never been more critical, and I congratulate you all for embracing this trend.

Companies are also doing their part to clarify ethical responsibility and accountability for their employees. A full 85% of respondents report that their company has an official written ethics policy (e.g. Code of Ethics/Conduct) for employees. This strong statistic can be attributed in part to passage of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act which required publicly traded companies to disclose whether they have adopted a Code of Ethics for senior officers.

Interestingly, however, only 56% of you believe that all employees are aware of this Code of Ethics statement reflecting that, while the momentum is there, a little more effort is needed to close the gap. We all know that a Code of Ethics is just a piece of paper unless all of management champions the principles on a continuing basis.

The ethical landscape: Good news prevails

In general, ethics trends are extremely promising. Harassment, bullying and lying are down statistically, while ethics training is up. Admins are also facing less ethical stress overall. In 2003, 15% of you reported facing an uncomfortable ethical choice once a month. In 2008, that figure was down to only 3% of you making an uncomfortable ethical choice per month!

More good news! A full 93% of you have a clear understanding of whom to contact to report or discuss an ethical dilemma. And 86% of you said that, if you had an ethical disagreement with your supervisor(s), it could be resolved (up from 69% in 1995). In addition, 55% of you said that if your boss was doing something unethical, you could discuss it directly with him or her and that you would have no problem doing so. Congratulations on continuing to open the doors of the ethical conversation in your workplace!

Room for improvement

Ethical trends are clearly headed in the right direction. As with any process that involves a learning curve, a few sticky areas remain, however. Ethical dilemmas continue because we face the same age old conundrum: We all have bosses (reflecting power issues), and we all need our jobs (reflecting reality). Although the ability to talk directly with your boss was on the rise, alternatives are sorely lacking: Only 24% said you could talk to human resources in the event of witnessing something unethical from a supervisor. A modest 13% said you could talk to your boss’ boss, and a miniscule 4% said you had access to a corporate attorney.

These statistics, along with the low awareness of written Code of Ethics policies, represent a gap in the ethical feedback system in today’s workplace. While direct conversations with bosses are increasing, management shows the most room for improvement.

Management can close this gap by providing alternative channels for ethical conversations, through increased ethics training, and by raising awareness and distribution of written policies.

Although trends are positive, the workplace is still troubled by these ever present ethical gremlins: Harassment, lying, trust issues and favoritism.

The changing face of harassment

One of the most interesting trends revealed itself in the changing patterns around harassment. On the positive side, 89% of you stated that companies have clearly established harassment policies. Sexual harassment is also unquestionably down, with only 7% of you stating that you or someone you know have provided sexual favors in return for advancement, cut in half from the reported 14% in 1995.

While it is clear that sexual harassment itself is down and that management has addressed that issue aggressively over the years, other forms of harassment appear to remain prevalent. While sexual harassment is on the decline, only 8% of you feel that harassment in general has declined and 56% feel it has remained the same. This is not the best news.

Thus, you report that emotional harassment and verbal harassment both remain present in the workplace despite moderate decreases since 1995. In addition, almost half of you (49%) report you have experienced or witnessed workplace bullying. And this bullying was caused almost equally by your bosses and your peers!

While it appears that management understands the urgency around eliminating sexual harassment, there is a fuzzy area around other forms of harassment, and a need for more training. It is vitally important that leadership understands that anything that creates a “hostile environment” can ultimately result in a costly lawsuit.

There is some good news in this arena, however. You reported these fine statistics that your companies now have written policies addressing:

Clearly, as these new policies show up in employee handbooks, harassment situations are bound to decrease. Again, employees need a clear blueprint of what is and what is not considered ethical behavior on the job. And, they need to have a copy of this expanded handbook in their hands (or on their monitors) certainly at the time of hire and reminders periodically thereafter. Equally important, employees deserve to know the consequences of misbehavior. For example, some companies used to have the “three strikes and you’re out” consequence for downloading pornography on their company computers. Today it’s almost universally zero tolerance.

Lies both large and small

Lying, once again, raced out of the gate as the number one ethical dilemma: 35% of you say that you have been asked to lie for your boss. The good news is that this figure is down from 57% in 2003. The even better news is that only 16% of you complied with the request to lie!

The timeless “little white lie” (being asked to tell a caller someone is “out of the office” when they are clearly “in the office”) remains a pesky workplace presence for 63% of you. Hopefully, many of you are learning the priceless word “unavailable.” No one should ever have to lie in the workplace today! And stating that someone is unavailable, followed up with an offer to help or take a message, is an honest as well as effective answer to this age-old conundrum.

More good news about the surging popularity of honesty: Only 9% of you have prepared a document with false or misleading information at your boss’ request, down from 36% in 2003. This is a fantastic improvement in just a few years! In addition, only 14% have signed someone else’s name to a document, down from 43% in 2003.

One thing to note is that 17% report notarizing something without witnessing the signature. While this number is not huge, it does constitute an ongoing ethical dilemma, and more training is indicated on both sides of the aisle. Admins need to be reminded of their accountability here; and, perhaps more importantly, supervisors need to stop with these illegal pressure requests.

NBC Dateline interviewed me (and my panel of admins) when my book was first launched. Jane Pauley quoted me with what she called the ideal response to your boss when asked to lie for him or her: “Ms. DeMars says you should say to your boss – I will never lie for you – but you also should know I will never lie to you either.” Hopefully, armed with the right words, admins can continue to avoid the large and small lies surfacing in the workplace.

Safeguarding of information – The question of confidentiality

Confidentiality issues remain critical for all admins. Our 1995 and 2003 Surveys reflected that while they themselves adhere to strict confidentiality rules (I consider single digits miniscule), they continue to be placed in positions of observing ethical misconduct by others. However, even these statistics are getting better, as the findings below indicate.

Have you (or someone you know) falsified administrative records such as:

Are we having trust issues?

Trust and its maintenance remain a valuable commodity for administrative professionals. Admins have always worked hard to establish a trust partnership with their supervisors.

Unfortunately, trust took a hit in our 2003 Survey (understandedly so), following all the headline-making corporate scandals. However, I am happy to see that you reported trust is back up there again…

The percentages below indicate the number of people that said trust was high to very high:

Though trust with your boss has been reinstated, job security is a bit shaky. However, I believe this perhaps reflects overall employment trends more than any ethical issue. Only 58% of you said that you feel you have job security, and only (roughly) half of you said you expect to be at the same job five years from now.

Justification and favoritism

Our last question on the survey was “What is the ethical dilemma that gives you the most trouble?”

I read every one of your answers – several times. Many of your concerns were those reflected in your survey questions. However, your notes and comments led me to discover some clear trends:

Justification: Many of you were concerned with unethical behavior which you witnessed which was “justified” by “making the boss look good” or “making the company look good.” This concern by admins points out again the need for more management training for their supervisors in order to understand the boundaries of ethics.

Favoritism: In this same vein, favoritism came out strongly as an ethical sore spot. Many of you were bothered by some employees’ behavior being considered acceptable when the same behavior of others is reprimanded. This was another reminder of the need for more managerial training in supervising employees. You reinforced what I have always known: other employees observe this kind of disparity!

Whenever I hear about favoritism in the workplace, I’m reminded of my favorite quote from NY Giants manager, Leo Durocher. When asked how he had created such a great team and been such a successful ball club manager for so long, he answered with elegant simplicity, “I just treated everyone the same.” Favoritism corrodes an ethical and supportive workplace, while a commitment to egalitarianism conveys a message of deep, consistent respect, truly bringing out the best in everyone.

The future looks bright!

Overall, our 2008 Office Ethics Survey shows promising trends. Commitment to ethics issues and ethics training appears to be deepening and reaching a new level of authenticity. The administrative professionals of today are feeling the relief as ethical dilemmas faced on a regular basis decline. Written policies governing ethical behavior are becoming more prevalent, although access issues and awareness are still a problem.

It is clear that the ethical conversations galvanized by the headlines of the past decade are still going strong. I cannot emphasize enough how important this is. I was extremely honored to know the late US Senator Paul Wellstone who died in a plane crash in 2002 while campaigning for re-election to the US Senate from Minnesota. Wellstone was aware of and championed my ethics training. Three days before he died, he told me, “Nan, I have a conversation with each new employee I hire whether in my St. Paul office or my Washington DC one. And, I tell them: if I get puffed up with the importance of being a Senator and slide off the ethical compass, I want them to shore me up! In fact, I let them know that is their responsibility to do so!” Powerful words from a boss! Wellstone knew that power, stress and the hectic pace of work life can all pull people off center, away from their ethical and moral compasses. He challenged his employees to let him know if he ever felt he was overstepping any ethical bounds or losing his way. To me, this represents true vision: a person who knows both the pressures faced by leaders and the critical accountability of the people who follow them.

You who are on the front lines have the unique ability to provide this crucial perspective, feedback, and insight to your supervisors. Senator Wellstone saw the value of that and I have made such conversations through my ethics workshops and presentations my personal mission statement. Together, I know these continued discussions, your courageous actions, and your personal ethical integrity will continue to guide the modern workplace toward an even more ethical, productive and vibrant future.

I continue to be proud of all of you!

To view the 2008 survey results in their entirety, visit http://www.iaaphq. org/ethics2008.html

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A past international president of IAAP, Nan DeMars CPS is an internationally recognized authority and seminar leader on office ethics. She is president of Executary Services in Minneapolis, MN, and author of You Want Me to do What? When, Where, and How to Draw the Line at Work (Simon & Schuster).