Stress, Job Satisfaction, and Ethics in the Workplace
April 18th, 2007As I was driving into work this morning, I heard a story on NPR about a new study from Deloitte & Touche that examines “what’s going wrong in the workplace, from harassment to embezzlement and theft.” They found that supervisors tend to “set the standard on how to behave.”
At the Deloitte & Touche website, ethical behavior was presented in terms of a good work-life balance. They found a strong relationship between the two factors. Top factors in promoting ethical behavior in the workplace, according to the study which was conducted by Harris Interactive, were the behaviors of management and direct supervisors, coupled with positive reinforcement for ethical behavior.
On Stress and Job Dissatisfaction
- A combined 44% of workers cite high levels of stress (28%), long hours (25%) and inflexible schedule (13%) as the causes of conflict between their work responsibilities and personal priorities, hence contributors to work-life imbalance.
- 60% of think that job dissatisfaction is a leading reason why people make unethical decisions at work, and more than half of workers (55% ranked a flexible work schedule among the top three factors leading to job satisfaction, second only to compensation (63%).
- 91 percent of all employed adults agreed that workers are more likely to behave ethically at work when they have a good work-life balance.
On Management’s Impact on Ethical Behaviors
- With 42% ranking the behavior of management and 36% ranking the behavior of direct supervisors as top factors contributing to the promotion of an ethical workplace, leadership and modeling are clearly important.
- Only 16% ranked ethics training as a factor that has positive influence.
- Only 10% ranked criminal penalties for violations of Code of Conduct as among the top three factors.
They have framed this data in terms of work-life balance. Long hours and an inflexible schedule can certainly create stress, but even a regular schedule in a stressful position will not bring out the strengths of the individual.
The bigger issues here are stress and job dissatisfaction, and they are not unrelated.
Managers and employees who are under moderate to extreme stress will tend to exhibit the weak points (the extremes) of their behavioral style. For example: A High D may move from being decisive to being demanding and dictatorial. A High I may move from being persuasive to being dramatic and emotional, or even attacking. A High S may move from being patient to being falsely agreeable and avoidant. A High C may move from being conscientious to being detached, nit-picky or defensive. These are of course “broad stroke” descriptions; legitimate behavioral style analysis looks at all four quadrants, high and low, for each person. However, the point furthest from the line shows the area in which stress behaviors are most likely to occur.
Most people adapt their natural style – how they prefer to do things – a little bit in order to be successful in their job. However, when there is a significant difference between the style of the individual and the style that the actual job requires, then that puts the individual under stress.Stress behaviors are based on the natural, not the adapted style. So, the person under stress first loses the ability to adapt to the job, then exhibits the weaknesses of their natural style. Add to this the normal stressors of the workplace, long hours, and inflexible (and perhaps incompatible) work schedules, and the potential for “people problems” increases.
There are integrity assessments that examine potentially problematic attitudes, and these can be very helpful as pre-employment tools.
However, anyone under stress is likely to exhibit behaviors that may be counterproductive in their work environment.
The DISC behavioral style assessment examines how people prefer to do things, providing information about the individual’s natural behavioral style, as well as the adaptations they make to that style to thrive in the workplace. The information can be applied for the life cycle of the employee – keys to motivating, keys to managing, strengths, communication preferences, suggested strategies for improved communications with others, and potential areas for development.
A DISC behavioral profile is an accurate description of our observable actions. There is no right or wrong profile, no good or bad style.
Every style combination has strengths and weaknesses, value and blind spots. A profile narrates exactly how we prefer to do things and in what kind of environment we prefer to do them.
Understanding styles corrects misconceptions, miscommunications, and misunderstandings that might have existed and plagued performance for some time.When people love what they do, they can focus on doing the job itself rather than putting their energy into adapting to the behaviors required to be successful in the position. Stress behaviors and behavioral incompatibilities between individuals are then minimized, especially when managers and employees understand and implement more effective ways of communicating with others who have different styles than themselves.
Job satisfaction is key!
Work-life balance is important, but there seems to be a bit of a leap here from the data to the conclusions. When people can thrive at work using the strengths of their behavioral style, the workplace is a little bit more like a home away from home. They are doing what they love to do, in the way they prefer to do it (how they want to deal with problems, people, pace, and procedures).
Better communication, reduced conflict, better work teams, and a better working environment for self-motivation increase job satisfaction and may well do as much (or more) to promote ethical behavior – and productivity – in the workplace.
Data Dome Inc offers a complimentary advanced DISC behavioral style profile to qualified decision-makers, and a consultation on your current needs and goals. Call us at 404-814-0739 (or contact us via our form).
