United States

Ethics at Work Index: 84.8

Employees in the US seem to have particularly positive views of how organisations responded to the Covid-19 crisis from an ethical standpoint: most respondents say that their opinion of how ethically their organisation behaves has improved following the Covid-19 pandemic. In general, they also tend to have positive views of their manager’s ability to set a good example for ethical behaviour and ethics programmes tend to be widespread.

However, US employees are also more likely than average to say that their line manager rewards good results even when they are achieved through ethically questionable practices, and they are among the most likely to say that they have been aware of misconduct at work. Looking ahead, the loss of interpersonal interactions due to the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown is the issue that employees in the US are more likely to be concerned about. 

 

Organisational culture

  • In 2021, 87% of employees in the US say that honesty is practised always or frequently in their organisation, which is in line with the global average (86%).
  • 14% of employees in the US have felt pressured to compromise their organisation’s standards of behaviour. The main sources of pressure for US employees come from time pressure/unrealistic deadlines, following their boss’s orders and being asked to take shortcuts, all at 30%. 
  • Employees in the US are among the most likely to say that they have been aware of misconduct at work (20%). The global average is 18%.

Speaking Up

  • In the US, 76% of employees that have been aware of misconduct at work have spoken up about it with management, another appropriate person, or through any other mechanism. They are the most likely to say so of all countries surveyed (57% global average).
  • The main reason why employees who have been aware of misconduct do not raise their concerns is by far that they were concerned that it might jeopardise their job (58%).
  • 44% of employees in the US say that they have experienced retaliation after they raised concerns about misconduct. The global average is 43%. 
  • US employees who have spoken up about the misconduct they have been aware of are notably more likely than average to be satisfied with the outcome (75% vs 62% global average).

The ethics programme

  • The percentage of employees in the US who say that they are aware of each of the four building blocks of an ethics programme considered is relatively high, especially compared to some of the other countries included in the survey. In the US, written standards of ethical business conduct, such as a code of ethics, is the most common (82% vs 67% global average), while an information helpline about behaving ethically at work is the least common (63% vs 46% global average).  

Embedding ethics through a supportive environment

  • In the US, 79% of employees say that their line manager sets a good example of ethical business behaviour (71% global average), 75% say that their line manager explains the importance of honesty and ethics in the work they do (65% global average), and 80% say that their line manager supports them in following their organisation’s standards of ethical behaviour (68% global average). 80% say that senior management takes ethics seriously in their organisation (70% global average). However, 43% of US employees also say that their line manager rewards employees who get good results, even if they use practices that are ethically questionable, which higher than the global average (32%).
  • 83% of US employees say that their organisation acts responsibly in all its business dealings and 76% that it lives up to its stated policy of social responsibility.
  • 67% of employees in the US say that issues of right and wrong are discussed in staff meetings (58% global average). 86% say that people in their organisation know what is expected of them in terms of ethical behaviour (78% global average), and 74% say that in their organisation decisions about people are made fairly (65% global average). 
  • 72% say that their organisation disciplines employees who violate its ethical standards. The global average is 63%.

Current and future issues

  • 54% of employees in the US say that, considering their organisation’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, their opinion on how ethically their organisation behaves has improved, which is higher than the global average (37%). Only 7% say that it has worsened, while 38% say that it has stayed the same.
  • With regards to the future of the workplace, the loss of interpersonal interactions due to the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown is the issue that employees in the US are more likely to be concerned about (50%), followed by the misuse of AI for unethical behaviour and loss of interpersonal interactions due to new technologies (both at 45%).