Beware of Employee Misconduct if Your Company is in Flux
Did you know that big or frequent changes in your company can result in increased incidences of employee misbehavior? According to a research report titled “Managing Misconduct During Career Moments: Reinforcing Ethics in a High-Change Environment” (published by The Corporate Executive Board Company (CEB)), changes in employees’ work environment (“career moments”) can disrupt established patterns of workplace behavior and increase the risk of misconduct (including bribery, conflicts of interest, harassment, and other violations of the law or company policy). High-change environments, where employees experience multiple career moments during a year, can have as much as three times the amount of misconduct as more stable work environments. And, according to CEB’s research, some career moments are more important than others. CEB advises that executives committed to reducing the risk of misconduct should be on guard and prepared to address the effects of layoffs, organizational restructurings, changes in senior leadership, changes in job responsibilities, reductions in benefits, changes in direct management, wage freezes, and hiring freezes.