Work-life balance boosts workplace ethics: survey

By Ellen Wulfhorst

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Employees say workers are more likely to steal petty cash and commit other unethical acts when they are dissatisfied and see their own superiors behaving badly, according to research released on Monday.

A good work-life balance and high levels of job satisfaction, on the other hand, were thought to promote ethical behavior among employees, said the poll of more than 1,000 U.S. adults who work full-time.

Sixty percent of those surveyed said job dissatisfaction was a leading reason people make unethical decisions at work, second only to lack of personal integrity, according to the "Ethics and Workplace" survey conducted for Deloitte & Touche

USA.

Also, 91 percent said workers who enjoy a good work-life balance are more likely to behave ethically, it said.

"To the extent that they are dissatisfied, they also get disengaged. When they get disengaged, perhaps, they just don't take the time or energy or think fully about making the good decisions," said Sharon Allen, chairman of the board of directors of Deloitte & Touche USA.

The behaviors of managers and direct supervisors were said to be the most significant factors in encouraging or discouraging good behavior at work, the survey said.

"They reinforce the importance of setting the tone at the top," Allen said. "What they do matters, and what they do makes a difference, and they are always in some way being observed, and they are being used as role models, whether they know it or not."