New research has found some distinct differences between the experiences of men and women in Irish workplaces with twice as many men (16pc) as women (8pc) citing an unethical culture in their organisation as the main cause of pressure on them to bend the rules, while peer pressure is more likely to be a reason for women to act unethically than it is for men (27pc versus 19pc)

The Ethics at Work: 2024 International Survey of Employees was carried out by the Institute of IBE in conjunction with the Compliance Institute[1] in Ireland, and polled 12,000 employees in 16 countries over four continents. A total of 750 of those surveyed were in Ireland.

Headline findings from the Ethics at Work: 2024 International Survey of Employees – Irish Edition reveal that:

• The top five reasons people came under pressure to breach their organization’s moral code were: following their boss’s orders (35pc), time pressure and unrealistic deadlines (27pc), under-resourcing at the workplace (26pc), a request to take shortcuts (25pc) and peer pressure (23pc). (See Table 3 below)
• Women are more likely than men to feel swayed by their boss’s orders (42pc versus 29pc).
• One in seven (14pc) Irish workers cited budgeting and financial pressures at the company as the main reason they came under pressure to act unethically.
• Managers are twice as likely as non-managers to have come under pressure to breach their organization’s standards of ethical conduct (23pc v 10pc).
• More men (17pc) than women (12pc) have felt compromised while younger staff were also more likely to have felt under pressure to bend the rules here with almost one in five (19pc) 18-34 year-olds admitting to this compared to14pc of 35 -54 year-olds and 8pc of over-55s.
• The research also found some geographic differences in feedback from workers when it comes to the likelihood to come under pressure to act unethically with Carlow (40pc), Donegal (30pc), Kilkenny (29pc), Cavan (25pc) and Kerry workers (23pc) being the most inclined to admit this. (See Table 2 below)

If an employee feels pressure in the workplace to act unethically, for whatever reason, then there is something fundamentally wrong. It seems, from this survey, that depending on your age, gender, and role within an organization, that one in seven (15pc) workers in Ireland have felt this way – and this is of course concerning.

Putting pressure on employees to act unethically so that short-term business goals are reached is unlikely to be in the best long-term interests of the company and its staff. A Machiavellian approach or culture in work is likely to backfire for bosses, management, and staff alike. It could damage a company’s brand, land management, and employees in trouble with corporate regulators, and also lead to poor staff morale.

The research also reflects the extent to which so much of the Irish workforce is grappling with time pressure and unrealistic deadlines  – and it is concerning that almost three in ten find themselves under pressure to act unethically as a result of this.  Employee burnout is increasingly becoming a feature of the modern workplace and this is likely to continue – recent research [2] found that four in ten Irish workers had found that their workload has risen significantly in the last 12 months. Irish workers need to be supported so they can achieve their work goals and deadlines – without having to bend the rules or take shortcuts to do so.

We also looked at tolerance of ethics breaches amongst the Irish workforce

• More than half of workers think rule breaches at work are simply inevitable, but one in four (26pc) disagree with this way of thinking.
• Three in ten workers say they wouldn’t worry about minor breaches so long as they delivered on what they needed to on time and within in budget – though four in ten disagree with this rationale. Men are more likely than women to be tolerant of minor infractions (36pc v 27pc).
• While the majority (70pc) believe it is not acceptable to artificially increase a company’s profits, about one in seven (15pc) workers deem it acceptable to do so – with twice as many men (21pc) as women (10pc) holding this view.

While ‘minor’ breaches might seem acceptable to some workers, the concern is that such breaches could foster an unscrupulous workplace – and furthermore, there is always a danger that a ‘minor’ breach could in fact be much more serious than thought or even be the precursor to be much more serious breach.

While it is encouraging that most workers believe it is not acceptable to artificially boost a company’s profits, it is worrying that one in seven think it’s okay. This is an illegal practice which could not only land a company in trouble with the law, it could also cause severe reputational damage for the company and undermine investor confidence.

Compliance Institute is the professional body for compliance professionals.

Responses for the Ethics at Work 2024 International Survey of Employees were collected from a total of 12,067 participants between April and May 2024, achieving approximately 750 responses in each of the 16 participating countries. Countries involved in the research were UK, USA, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Brazil, India and Japan. The survey was conducted by leading market research agency Yonder Consulting on behalf of the Institute of Business Ethics.

[1] The national partner for Ireland

[2] As per PwC Hopes and Fears Workforce 2024 Survey