Have you ever wondered how some companies can end up in the news for shockingly poor decisions—ones that are often illegal and/or unethical? It always makes one wonder: how did that even start? Does it mean there was just a “bad apple” that ended up taking down the organization with their choices? Or is it more insidious than that? The answer could be either one, but there are a lot of seemingly simple actions and behaviors that can lead organizations to a slippery slope—one that’s tough to climb back up once you’ve fallen.
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Here are some examples of actions and policies that can have unintended and sometimes unethical consequences—especially if left unchecked.
- Incentives without caveats. Many organizations successfully utilize incentives to promote specific behaviors. Salespeople might have an incentive to sell a certain product in order to get a bonus, for example. The problem isn’t with incentives in and of themselves. The problem can occur when an incentive program does not take into account potential, unintended consequences. The key is to ensure the incentives have checks and balances. With our sales example, that might mean noting that any product sold must still pass quality and safety checks, and safety regulations cannot be violated in order to get the item produced faster. This may sound obvious on the surface, but when you give people an incentive to accomplish a goal, it often creates a situation in which other obstacles (like safety) may get in the way and potentially be ignored.
- No incentives at all. This is somewhat of the opposite of the problem above. When there are no incentives to do the right thing—such as report a safety violation—then some employees simply won’t do it.
- Shooting the messenger. This is another variation on the same theme, but it’s usually an example of misplaced frustration. Perhaps an employee reports a safety violation or an unethical activity . . . some people have a tendency to accuse the person who is reporting the problem of being the cause of the problem, thus completely removing the incentive to bring anything else up.
- Conflict avoidance. The simple act of avoiding conflict at all costs can have negative consequences. If a manager is conflict-averse to the point of being unwilling to address employee behavioral problems, for example, this could lead to a situation where problems—including things like harassment—are tolerated by default.
- No room for complaints. Employees who fear they will be punished, yelled at, or otherwise treated poorly for bringing up problems will cease to do so out of fear of negative consequences. This leads to a situation in which people will turn a blind eye even if they clearly see unethical behavior occurring. That can lead to more people performing the unethical behavior, and it can quickly become the norm. One solution is to have a clear “open door” policy to encourage employees to go to someone else if they feel they cannot address problems with their supervisor or colleagues.
- Too much pressure. When unrealistic demands are placed on employees, this creates a situation in which they may be forced to make compromising decisions in an attempt to satisfy all competing goals. For example, if a production team is tasked with producing more product than they’re usually capable of in a given time frame, that might create a situation in which they feel justified in cutting corners.
- No checks and balances. Even when things are going well, problems can result if there are no checks and balances for major decisions. For example, if someone in the organization has a high level of power and authority, there may be no one to question him or her—which can lead to the ability to unilaterally make decisions. This isn’t inherently bad, but if that individual ends up with any reason to make an unethical choice, there will be little to stop it from escalating—or perhaps from even being discovered.
- Uncaring or unsupportive managers. When an employee tries to do the right thing and bring problems to a manager’s attention but gets ignored, that simply reinforces that the problem itself must be acceptable.
Reading this list, it’s easy to see how some of these issues can have a snowball effect. What starts as something small and insignificant can turn into something much larger over time—and when that “something” has unintended consequences, the repercussions can be jarring. Bad behaviors tend to be contagious if left unchecked, and the entire work culture can change for the worse. Before too long, simple missteps and avoidance of problems can escalate into situations where ignoring issues is normal and tolerating unethical behavior is par for the course.
*This article does not constitute legal advice. Always consult legal counsel with specific questions.