Sobering Year For EEOC Discrimination & Retaliation Complaints-Personal Ethics

Is there anything good about 2010 being a record year for EEOC complaints filed and what does this say about our progress being made in personal ethics?

The EEOC received almost 100,000 workplace discrimination complaints in 2010 representing a 7.1% increase over 2009. For you statistics buffs, this is over twice our inflation rate in 2011 of 3.4 percent.

I’m just getting warmed up and the stats aren’t in yet for 2011. For the first time the EEOC announced that the number of complaints filed for discriminatory retaliation surpassed the number filed for race discrimination.

Are you kidding me? Amazingly, companies think they have a handle on their personal ethics and other ethics training.

How is this possible and what galaxy are these organizations a part of?

Over 36,000 retaliation complaints were filed under all of the non-discrimination statutes the EEOC enforced.

This is a startling and gruesome trend to say the least because executives and managers continue to usurp power and punish employees who are reporting ethical violations.

What does this say about their commitment to personal ethics and leadership? Do they really care about codes of conduct, ethics statements, employee handbooks, employee hotlines, and whistleblower protection programs?

I have a number of friends who are CEO’s of privately held companies. They tell me that the majority of executives they know hide behind their codes of conducts, mission statements, employee guidelines and values, and hotlines.

Sadly, they do it to make a good impression they care. 

Company executives like their power, control, compensation, and benefits. They aren’t interested in giving this up very easily. Anything that is a threat to this is a threat to their own welfare, self-esteem, and image.

The personal ethics many of them exhibit is more for appearance than demonstrating honesty, accountability, responsibility, and being transparent.

That is problematic in itself and workers see right through them.

The emotional and financial costs to individuals and their employers is substantial.

Any ethics training programs that aren’t ongoing and given the highest priorities are doom to failure. I have often said that ethics is as important as driving sales.

What lies ahead in 2012 will depend on our leaders and their willingness to embrace personal ethics and make it a top priority in their lives and for their colleagues they work with.