Employees’ views of ethics at work in France have remained consistent since 2021 in some respects. They are still as likely as in 2021 to say that honesty is practised always or frequently in the workplace, to be aware of misconduct, and to feel pressured to compromise their organisation’s standards of behaviour. Employees in France outperform most of the other surveyed countries on these metrics.

Employees in France are also more likely than three years ago to be aware of the elements of an ethics programme provided by their organisation. However, they still rank low on this question and remain among the least likely to be aware compared to other countries. Their opinion on their line manager’s commitment to ethics has also worsened since 2021. Compared to the global average, they have a worse view on their organisation’s ability to effectively engage with internal and external stakeholders. Employees in France are also among the most likely to say that they have experienced retaliation after raising concerns about ethics.

Data for France were first collected in 2012 as indicated in the global report. The findings in this country-specific report compare 2024 data against 2021 data, the last data point.

 

Organisational culture

  • Employees in France are among the most likely of the 16 surveyed countries to find each of eight ethically questionable practices outlined on p9 of the global report to be acceptable. They are more likely than the global average to say that they find each of the actions acceptable (25% vs 20% globally).
  • Around nine in ten employees in France say that honesty is practised always or frequently in their organisation (87%), remaining broadly consistent with findings in 2021 (89%). Of the 16 surveyed countries, they are among the most likely to say this. Only employees in India (91%), Germany (89%), and Brazil (89%) have higher ratings and 84% of employees globally say that honesty is practiced always or frequently.
  • Around one in ten employees in France say that they feel pressured to compromise on ethical standards of behaviour (10%), remaining consistent with findings in 2021(9%). This figure is below the percentage of employees who say this globally (15%). Of the 16 surveyed countries, France is one of the four countries studied where 10% or less of employees report this pressure. Around one in three employees in France who have felt pressured to act unethically at work say that time pressure / unrealistic deadlines (32%), and following their boss’s orders (31%), are the main sources of pressure.
  • Around two in ten employees in France reported being aware of conduct that they thought violated either the law or their organisation’s ethical standards in the last year (19%). Employees in France are among the least likely to say this, only employees in the UK (18%) and Germany (18%) have lower ratings. The figure in 2024 (19%) is not statistically higher than in 2021 (16%), but lower than the 2024 global average (25%).

Speaking up

  • Around six in ten employees in France who were aware of misconduct spoke up about it with management, another appropriate person or through any other mechanism (58%). This figure is higher than in 2021 (52%), but lower than the 2024 global average (64%).
  • Of all those who did not report a concern, around one in three of them cited a fear of jeopardising their job (33%) as the key deterrent to speaking up after witnessing misconduct. Notably, around one in four employees in France cited not wanting to be seen as a troublemaker by management (28%) and lack of belief that corrective action would be taken (28%).
  • Of those reporting a concern, around six in ten (64%) say that they experienced a form of personal disadvantage or retaliation as a result. This figure is similar to 2021 (60%) but above the 2024 global average - where around five in ten employees said so (46% globally). Employees in France are among the most likely to say they experienced this, alongside colleagues in India (65%).
  • Only around five in ten employees in France say they were satisfied with the outcome after raising concerns about misconduct (52%). This figure is lower than in 2021 (62%) and the percentage of employees who say so globally in 2024 (71%). Employees in France are among the least likely to be satisfied, along with those in the UK (54%), Italy (53%) and New Zealand (49%).

The ethics programme

  • Employees in France are among the least likely to say that they are aware of each of four building blocks of an ethics programme. Less than half of employees in France say that they are aware of their organisations providing a means of reporting misconduct confidentially (48%), an information helpline for ethics (40%) and training on standards of ethical conduct (43%).
  • However, employees in France are more likely to be aware of each of four building blocks of an ethics programme compared to 2021, a trend that has been sustained over time. Similar to 2021, the biggest increase relates to awareness of training on standards of ethical conduct (43% vs 37% in 2021) which is at the highest level ever recorded in this survey for France.

Embedding ethics through a supportive environment

  • In France, 66% (vs 72% global average) of employees say that their line manager sets a good example of ethical business behaviour, 63% (vs 68% global average) say that their line manager explains the importance of honesty and ethics in the work they do, and 65% (vs 72% global average) say that their line manager supports them in following their organisation’s standards of ethical behaviour. While 66% (vs 72% globally) say that senior management takes ethics seriously in their organisation, 36% (vs 38% globally) also say that their line manager rewards employees who get good results, even if they use practices that are ethically questionable.
  • Of the 16 surveyed countries, employees in France are among the least likely to say that their organisation acts responsibly in all its business dealings (70% vs 76% globally) and that it lives up to its stated policy of social responsibility (66% vs 72% globally).
  • Employees in France are also likely to have poorer views about how their organisation engages with employees on ethics. They are among the least likely to say that people in their organisation know what is expected of them in terms of ethical behaviour (71% vs 77% globally), that issues of right and wrong are discussed in staff meetings (56% vs 62% globally) and that in their organisation decisions about people are made fairly (60% vs 67% globally).
  • 62% of employees in France say that their organisation disciplines employees who violate its ethical standards. A similar percentage of employees say this globally (65%).