Workplace trust issues can wreck retention, with 47% of workers saying they’ve thought about quitting over ethical inconsistencies, according to a recent report from Resume Now.
Workers expressed concerns about their employer’s actions not aligning with its established values. At the same time, 36% said they’ve stayed quiet about unethical activity to protect their job.
In a survey of 1,000 U.S. workers, 43% said they’ve seen favoritism in promotions or raises, and 21% saw retaliation occur after someone spoke up. Another 9% said diversity, equity and inclusion efforts seem to exist only for show, and only a third said they haven’t seen any of these issues.
“Favoritism, retaliation and performative diversity efforts are red flags for any workplace. For employees, seeing these behaviors signals that ethics are conditional, not universal,” Keith Spencer, a career expert and certified professional resume writer, wrote in the report. “Bad leadership can undermine a workplace’s ethics and — in doing so — undermine employees’ sense of safety and trust.
This in turn can hurt morale, create fear and foster a toxic workplace culture, Spencer said.
Ethical and legal questions around favoritism at work can be tricky, especially when related to protected characteristics such as employee race, gender or age. Employers should look into employee allegations of favoritism in the same way they would investigate harassment, discrimination, unethical conduct or other workplace policy violations, attorneys told HR Dive.
More than half of workers said they feel pressure to “fit the mold” at work. While 41% said they feel comfortable bringing up ethical concerns and 26% said they’d definitely report an unethical boss, 21% said they’ve lied to protect their image or job.
Ethical concerns may affect recruitment as well, with 44% of workers saying they’d only recommend their company based on the team and 16% saying “no way.”
Workplace use of artificial intelligence tools is an emerging area that can raise ethical questions, particularly if training and transparency are lacking. While some managers report using AI to make decisions about promotions and layoffs, only a third said they’ve received formal training on how to do so ethically.
