Response to "Ethical Lapses Distract US Workers"

This article was a shocking article in my opinion. It is disappointing to read that 73% of Americans who are employed full-time report encountering ethical lapses on the job. Ethical lapses cause problems in the workplace that make it difficult to interact or communicate with coworkers. Ultimately, this dissonance in the workplace is distracting and can decrease a company's productivity. This article stresses the importance of having shared values in the workplace. It is important to educate workers on these values and the company's expectations regarding compliance with these values. The article also describes the importance of creating a corporate culture with a value system so that workers can be encouraged to engage in appropriate conduct which will ultimately result in increased performance. I also found it interesting when the article said that one in three workers who dealt with ethical lapses said that these ethical lapses happen at least once a week. Workers lose motivation to be productive in the workplace when inappropriate behavior is occurring around them. Another issue that the article addresses is the fact that not only do ethical lapses decrease productivity in the workplace, but also workers lose satisfaction with their jobs. It is difficult to be motivated to do well and be productive in the workplace when you are not happy with your job. The article also spoke about the distraction for workers that comes from disagreeing with coworkers on how to handle the ethical issues. The main argument is whether they should handle it themselves or report it to company management. When workers are having to spend their energy on how to deal with ethical issues, they are wasting time in the workplace in which they could be productive. I found that this article was very important considering the alarming statistics involved with encountering ethical lapses in the workplace. It is commonplace to find these ethical lapses in the corporate environment. Therefore, businesses should address these issues at the beginning in order to create an environment that is focused on ethics.