Integrity At Work

Integrity. We deal with this underlying moral issue in our everyday life. Most of our parents would have taught us during our growing up years that we must inculcate this virtue because it is the right thing to do. What is integrity? It means honesty - keeping to one’s word even if it costs us dearly to do so. If you pledge to ‘love, honour and cherish your spouse until death do you part’, you must honour that promise. If you agree to do a task, you must do it. 

Sadly, there are just too many news to exemplify our compromises on the issue of integrity in the corporate world and it has somehow, become a norm and an ‘acceptable’ fashion at work. A deceitful lie may start out as something trivial, like lying to your mother that you did not eat the chocolate but you did or you call in your office for sick leave when you are actually not sick. Though a white lie is small and relatively harmless, it can become a bigger issue in life, for example, in the scandal of the Enron Corp case which has indeed eroded investors’ confidence to a low due to dishonest representation of corporate earnings. The end result is always not promising - you may get scolded by your mother, your boss may find you unreliable and a broken confidence of the investors which will take some time to build up again. 

Why do we compromise our integrity? Every once in a while, we lie to our parents, friends, boss or clients as a form of denial of the facts or as a protection to ourselves from confrontation - so what is the big deal, you may ask? Well, lack of integrity only compounds a problem. 

Despite it all, there may be various reasons why lying seems to be a way of life for many people. 

Lack of Discipline

Honesty is the best virtue and we should start with ourselves. That is why early parental guidance in the development of a child is essential to nurture him to be a disciplined person who will grow up to be responsible in his dealings with his friends, colleagues or superior in the corporate world. 

Learning to set priorities is an important part of dealing with integrity. If not, we will find ourselves becoming a ‘people pleaser’ and constantly shying away from making a stand for our beliefs. 

[Editorial note: You don’t have to remember a truth, but you always have to work doubly hard to remember a lie in case you are found out later - whom you lied to, what you lied about, when you created the lie - and this will always affect your integrity.] 

Power & Control

Gossiping in the office is an art that you either love to master or hate to indulge in. In a way, gossiping is a way of avoiding confrontation with the person or issue at hand and most of the time, it has no benefit to the company or the gossiper. It only breaks the integrity of the gossiper. If gossiping about others makes you feel powerful, perhaps you should look at yourself and ask why you are still powerless. 

Be impeccable with your words. Speak with integrity and you will be respected for it. 

Greed

Infringement of corporate governance in the name of creating a flourishing picture of earnings and questionable accounting practices, to name a few, would perhaps have been instigated by greed and lack of judgment in exercising integrity. When the interest of shareholders and the public at large is being compromised, the trust factor will be affected. 

The loss of investors’ confidence, unfortunately, cannot be reversed instantly once it is damaged. Always go back to the benchmarks that you have set before yourself when making decisions that question your integrity personally and seek a way to share your thoughts with your close associates. Let your conscience be the guiding force to your action. 

We may have rules and regulations pasted on the notice boards or circulated within the office, but how can we make it workable? 

Job Orientation

Awareness of the work culture of an organisation is a good starting point to orientate a new staff from the start of his career with the company on the values and working standards that are expected from him. The superior has the role to talk to his new staff about the work culture, job expectation etc. Creating a rapport with the new staff would help to reduce any sense of suspicion between both parties in terms of work expectation and the ‘dos and don’ts’. 

Transparency

The codes of conduct of the Board of Directors, for example, help the directors to be aware of their responsibilities to the company as a whole. Shareholders should take the opportunity to read the Annual Report of the company and take an interest in the management of the company. 

So, honestly, do the right thing. If I tell you that I have not lied before in my life, I would be the biggest liar of all. Do nothing that needs a cover-up. Seek the truth and the truth shall set you free.

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