2.6 Becoming an Ethical Professional

Finding the “Right Fit”

Ethics has become a major consideration for young people in their selection of work and career. The following observation about young British workers applies to their counterparts in the United States, as well: “There’s a quiet revolution happening. . . but it’s not about pay, hours or contracts. It’s a coup d’état led by the nation’s young, politically engaged jobseekers who demand employers enshrine values and ethics in their business model, not just profit.”^[2]

Many job seekers want to feel that what they are doing is not just making money but making a difference, that is, contributing to the company in unique ways that reflect their core values, conscience, and personality. They believe an individual has worth beyond his or her immediate work or position. Many modern companies thus try to give greater weight to the human cost of decisions and employee happiness. They know that, according to studies, employees in “companies that work to build and maintain ethical workplace cultures are more financially successful and have more motivated, productive employees.”^[3] The decision whether to transfer someone from Boston to Salt Lake City, for instance, would now likely include the employee from the beginning and consider the impact on family members and the employee’s future, in addition to the needs of the company.

This was not always the case, and there are several reasons for the change. The first is that satisfied employees are more productive and feel greater commitment to the organization.^[4] Second, there are more options for job seekers, which gives them more freedom to choose a company for which to work.

“When we graduate from school, or whenever we are thinking about changing jobs, we are matching three things in deciding on our “vocation”—the job market (Are there jobs and opportunities?), our skills (Do I have the right skills to succeed in a particular job?) and our passions or beliefs (What do I want to do?) [with the concept that] worthwhile work can be found in working in a corporate culture that respects its workers and their personal lives. You may work where management is supportive and workers thrive and advance, but you can also find yourself working in a toxic environment where human dignity is torn down every day and responding to one’s family commitments is regarded as weaknesses.”^[5]

Many business journals report annually on how highly employees rate their work places (Figure 11.5). For example, you can consult Fortune’s annual list of “100 Best Companies to Work For,” which you can search by such factors as diversity, compensation, and paid time off. You can also consult specialized lists such as Forbes’ “100 Best Workplaces for Women” and Black Enterprise’s “50 Best Companies for Diversity.”

Figure 11.5 With insurance coverage for part-time workers, higher-than-industry-average pay, and an overall employee satisfaction rating of 9.58 of a possible 10, Costco is often rated the best large employer to work for by Forbes and Statista. It is not just a generous employer; it is efficient, too, operating on a profit margin that meets the norm in the retail grocery business. (attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY 4.0 license)

A third reason more companies are considering what truly makes employees happy is that even more than loyalty, employees appear to value the freedom and responsibility to act as moral agents in their own lives. A moral agent is someone capable of distinguishing right from wrong and willing to be held accountable for his or her choices.

The exercise of moral agency includes making a judgment about the alignment of personal and corporate conscience. Rather than jumping at the first job offer, moral agents assess whether the values expressed by the organization conform with their own, while recognizing that there is no perfect job. Even the most ethical organizations make mistakes, and even the most corrupt have managers and workers of integrity (Figure 11.6). This is why the “right fit” is more likely to be a job in which you can grow or that itself will change in a way that allows you to find greater meaning in it.

Figure 11.6 Abuse of power may not come as a surprise, but it should not be “business as usual.” A firm should balance profitability with responsibility to society in a way that lifts the communities and neighborhoods of which we are part. (credit: modification of “Los Angeles Women’s March (Unsplash)” by Samantha Sophia/Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

It’s Not About the Money—Is It?

You may follow a professional vocation that offers low pay or low status but yields nontangible rewards, such as nonprofit work, nursing, or teaching. Or you may find a position that pays a great deal and offers job security but leaves you feeling unhappy or unfulfilled. For some professionals, these might include law, accounting, dentistry, or anything else. The point is that occupations with high compensation and a certain stature do not always infuse their holders with the greatest psychological and emotional rewards, and it is different for each of us. In the best of all worlds, you might embark on a well-paying career that helps others or contributes a much-needed good or service to society. Finding such work is easier said than done, of course, because the aim of most jobs is not to help people find meaning or happiness. Where these do occur, they are often ancillary effects of work, whose real purpose is the profitability without which there would not be any jobs at all.

Also consider the gap between the purpose of the business and the purpose of the individuals in it. Except in a few startups, these purposes are not identical. Even artists, musicians, and independent practitioners who derive great meaning from their work are not immune to the frustrations over money or career that affect everyone else.

It has been estimated, however, that the amount of money needed to be happy is not actually that much, at least by Western standards, although it is well above the poverty line.^[6] Most people find themselves somewhere in the middle in terms of satisfaction and pay. Finding the proper balance between the two for you is taking a step on the way to your growth as a professional. You will make that assessment not once but throughout your career as you move in and out of jobs. Even if it turns out to be the best decision of your life, the choice to work for a company because of its mission, leadership, or cultural values should be intentional and based on sufficient knowledge of the company and yourself. To be appreciated for your contributions in the workplace, to work with congenial colleagues, or to provide a product or service of which you are proud might rival money as your most intrinsic motivator at work. Studies attest to this and, as professionals of integrity, we must each decide for ourselves how strong a benefit salary alone is in the jobs we select.