Is My Company Ethical? Honesty, You, Your Company, & Personal Ethics

If honesty really is the best policy, it makes sense to take an honest look at your company, yourself, and your personal ethics.

First, determining how ethical your company is takes time and newer employees can only hope to have some handle on this.

There are the obvious clues that help like companies having good mission and purpose statements, codes of conduct posted on websites, employee guidelines, employee hotlines/whistleblowing policies, and corporate governance principles.

This is a promising start but the road to good business ethics must pass through personal ethics first, and written words do not make a great company to work for.

The best place to start is be comfortable with your Supervisor’s, Manager’s, or Department head’s personal ethics. Are they able to articulate who they are, what they stand for, and why this is important to them?

Interviewing other employees in your department is a good idea and should be encouraged by the hiring manager. This suggests that there is a culture of transparency and openness, usually pointing to positive signs.

Speaking with employees in other departments who have tenure and do not report to your hiring manager is a smart move that should be encouraged.

I recently told prospective college graduates that they need to interview their prospective bosses promoting their own personal ethics and emphasizing how important they are. The reaction from a hiring manager, supervisor, or department head can be a telling sign of things to come.

It is always a good exercise to ask ourselves how honest are we prior mustering the strength to asking others how honest they are. Our personal ethics are the foundation of who we are as humans and must be practiced daily.

There are no shortcuts and our own morals, principles, and values must be self-imposed without exception.

Also, companies establish reputations for better or worse over time. How they give back to the community and how they are viewed says a lot about their ethical cultures.

Lastly, you can contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to see how many formal complaints have been filed against a company if you have any lingering doubts about them. Be resourceful and be true to yourself!!