An old joke says that at some point we all need to decide between eating well and sleeping well. Whether you subscribe to that belief or not, solid professional ethics can help us do both.

No matter whether you work alone or in a large group, ethics violations' potential for legal and public relations nightmares can be extreme. In addition, the financial costs of ethics violations alone to you and your business can be staggering. Let's look at a few of the most common ethics problems-hostile work environment and discrimination actions-and their typical costs.

There is simply no excuse for discriminatory action, and if you see it in any of your employees or colleagues, point it out immediately and be clear that it will not be tolerated.  To do otherwise is to personally inherit ethical, and sometimes, legal culpability for those discriminatory acts, regardless of whether you were personally their cause. The legal risks are, of course, far greater if you are the business owner or are in a managerial position. There are still risks, though, even if you are merely a colleague or coworker who sees discriminatory activities and take no appropriate steps to intervene. In addition, remember that the type and degree of risk does not depend on whether the discrimination is racial, ethnic, religious, age-related, gender-related or of any other type. Discrimination is discrimination and it must not be either perpetrated or tolerated.

Hostile work environments are equally unacceptable. However, the standards for what constitutes such an environment are still evolving. Suffice it to say that you need to discourage not only bullying or overt hostility in the workplace-whether in the office or on the worksite-but also actions or remarks which could be taken as offensive by others. Remember, the measure of what constitutes a hostile work environment isn't always whether or not you intended a picture/joke/e-mail/comment/action to be offensive. Case law generally supports that offensiveness is in the eyes, ears and guts of the beholder.

As an essential ingredient of protecting yourself and your company: never assume that an "off color" remark or questionable action will be okay with others, even if you think you know them pretty well. Remember, not everyone is comfortable speaking up when they are offended or otherwise distressed. There are plenty of examples of hostile workplace actions where the person making the claim never stated that they felt hurt by the behavior over which they have brought their legal action. Remember also that the same cautions can apply to work-related social functions outside of the office. The courts' frequent assumption, reasonably enough, is that work relationships don't evaporate simply because one isn't physically at the job at the moment. This is especially relevant to unwanted romantic or sexual advances. The rule is simple-just don't do it!

 

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