How to Identify & Control Unethical Behavior of Employees

Have you ever found out that some of your employees are being unethical in your organization? If yes, then what can be the reason behind the same? Nowadays, unethical behaviors of employees have become a reason for concern. As it can cause a lot of misconceptions and losses in the workplace. 

For instance, if an employee, a manager, or a business owner has done something unacceptable that is against the social norms leads to unethical behavior. 

Despite this, workplace standards come with a pack of vibrant effectiveness that differs the employees and their meaning of the workplace. Likewise, some employees come to their office only for work, whereas others work thereby considering it as their home office. 

In-depth! Whether employees are working on-site or working from home, for the sake of overall productivity enhancement and virtue of the workplace, establishing workplace ethics and behavior is necessary. 

What is Unethical Behavior in a Workplace?

Ethical behavior leads to the measures taken by individuals between what is legal. And what is correct to do even when no one is monitoring them? So, unethical behavior in the workplace and for those who are working from home means the illegal actions taken by an employee while working or performing other activities. That are not in favor of the company or are leading to failing business operations. As a result, unethical behavior may be seen in every organization and a lot of different ways. 

How to Control Unethical Behavior of Employees in the Workplace

Below given are some of the main points, which can help you boost ethical behavior in the workplace. Or we can say these points will let you know, how to control the unethical behavior of employees in the workplace:

Set specific approaches

Set specific approaches to the code of ethics that outline the behavioral nature of the company’s expectations. The code of conduct helps employees stay motivated, provides equal chances, sets values and standards, and helps define what benchmarks are needed if any employee breaks the code of ethics.  

Facilitate knowledge

Specifying a set of strategies or code of conduct is not the only thing that can reduce the unethical behavior of employees at the workplace. So, providing a better learning platform can help your newbies as well as existing employees. 

Provide tools

Evaluate executing reporting and time tracking tools that can make employees stay more active and attentive toward their work and reduce the attempts of unethical behaviors. Also, it allows employees to communicate better and with complete transparency with their subordinates.

Use data monitoring

Data monitoring is another best option to control unethical behavior in the workplace. Managers can set up administration examination panels to examine potential breaches of the code of conduct. Start with outlining email accounts that can capture suitable elements, including related documentation or the names of potential witnesses.

Promote ethical behavior

When companies hire new candidates, they should consider their values and capabilities. And examine whether they are capable of the company’s standards or not. And provide work balance, payroll, bonuses, etc., among employees and departments as per their roles and responsibilities for reducing unethical behavior.

How to Specify Transparency and Ethical Behavior in the Organization:

Below-mentioned points will let you know how organizations can determine transparency and ethical behavior: 

Company Values

No one can know what another person thinks, whether it is about personal life or profession. A company can never know about the values and capabilities of its employees. So, while hiring your candidates, you must focus on the honesty and skills employees have and what the company is searching for to improve and grow better. 

Honesty

As we all know, honesty is the best policy. Likewise, an honest environment can make employees feel more motivated and trustful toward their work and the company. The way managers supervise their employees can make them anxious or doubtful about the company’s work environment. 

Communication

The way a company communicates with its employees describes their connections and transparency. Keeping your employees and the complete workforce together presents a different aspect. Whereas keeping your employees away from your company’s information makes them feel away and unknowledgeable, and this leads to dishonesty in the workplace. Therefore, having a flawless and comfortable communication level makes employees stay for the long term and creates better growth. 

Culture

Establishing an honest and valuable culture leads to better employee performance and engagement. An ethical environment means the company is not blaming or penalizing employees for taking chances or driving errors because of threats. Employees lead to hiding things and never coming forward to take any risks or ownership of any tasks. Therefore, creating an ethical culture helps organizations build more trust and engagement among employees.

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Examples of Unethical Behavior in the Workplace

Unethical behavior in the workplace means the work or activity done by any employee that is not in favor of their organization. Also, it leads to a lot of loss in multiple fields. So, here are some of the most commonly analyzed unethical behavior acts discussed below that are applicable in both on-site offices and work from home:

Misusing productive time

When the employees are not working and showing that they were being on any project while wasting time on other irrelevant activities, that means they are misusing the company’s productive time and getting paid for free. Therefore, it is clearly defined as unethical behavior of employees towards their company or work.

However, there are multiple methods to misuse time, like if an employee is operating on a project with an estimated time of two hours. It is wasting while being on chatting or any other things that are not related to the work. And it showing that they are working for more hours bring about unethical behavior. 

Taking other’s work credit

It is the most common example of unethical behavior in the workplace. Many people enjoy taking the credit of another person for their praise in the overall company. This type of behavior can create issues for those who have provided all their efforts and struggle to complete the whole work. No matter whether it is an employee or a manager, this type of behavior leads to unethical behavior. So, companies need to grow and work together rather than take the credit alone. 

Lying about a job or work

Whether it is in your personal life or professional, lying can get you in big trouble at any time. So, to maintain your work-life balance, you should be transparent about your work and job and to your colleagues, managers, or employees. People ought to understand that lying can make them fall into multiple unfavorable situations, and it may cause a lot of losses in their jobs. 

Abusive behavior

When it comes to abusive behavior, it automatically goes to unethical behavior and unprofessional manners in every situation. Abusive behavior includes forceful, harsh, terrifying, threatening, humiliating, or damaging activities with unlawful purposes. It does not matter if any employee is being abusive or not if the incident once took place in your organization then it is very important to create some rules and boundaries that can be helpful for everyone working. 

Data breaching

In this digital era, if technology is taking place for better growth, then, on the other hand, it has been a threat for multiple reasons, like data breaches. It is the most observed issue in organizations nowadays. Therefore, implementing an employee monitoring software like DeskTrack can help you detect all the activities performed by your employees, including data transfer, applications opened, etc. Also, companies should maintain some rules and regulations and their outcomes if not followed for more pleasing management.

Understand the Signs of Unethical Behavior for Work-from-home Employees:

Remote employees are more likely to engage in unethical behavior if they don’t feel authorized by their employers or company. So for maintaining remote employees, companies need to understand the signs of unethical behavior appropriately and try to manage it with these below-mentioned points:

Build trust

As mentioned above, transparency and trust-building among employees, whether they are working from the office or home, are very important because they lead to a better outcome for the organization. So, maintaining trust and better communication makes you build better connections out of your company as well. 

Improve telecommuting policies

It is very important for organizations that have employees working from another location to improve their telecommuting policies as it helps them provide complete flexibility and visibility into their work. Using technologies that can help both organizations and employees working from home leads to better outcomes and work performance. 

Empower employees to do their best work

Companies need to make their employees feel more empowered and encouraged at every step. Empowering and appreciating your employees leads to better communication and trust among the managers and remote employees as they can easily discuss anything and will take steps ahead to work more with full enthusiasm and engagement. 

Execute regular performance reviews

If any of your employees are delivering their complete efforts and struggles towards their work, then companies should admire them with rewards and bonuses or provide regular performance reviews. This will help remote employees feel more motivated and valued while working with your company.  

Invest in tools that boost transparency and accountability

Implementing tools like employee productivity monitoring software will surely help organizations stay completely aware of the activities done by their employees during their working hours. This will help boost more transparency and accountability among the organization and employees as it will provide a clear report of visibility and the efforts done by the employees, whether they are working from home, any other location, or from the office. 

Conclusion

Not every organization is perfect in all aspects, as all need proper maintenance and administration. Also, there are some of the most conservative factors that need to be analyzed and managed for sure, like unethical behavior in the workplace. If left unchecked, it may generate a lot of damage and problems in different aspects of the organization. However, if your organization is having proper management rules and is following ethical behavior and patterns can have a better effect on overall organizational outcomes and profits. Organizations with healthy ethical values build a profitable brand prominence that draws and maintains qualified employees. Also, it enhances trust and belief in the consumer’s mind.