The relationship between employee attitudes and conflicting expectations for lying behavior

Area of Science:

• Business Ethics
• Organizational Behavior
• Psychology

Background:

• Ethical expectations in the workplace are crucial for employee attitudes and behaviors.
• Discrepancies between formal ethical codes and supervisor expectations can create workplace conflict.
• Understanding the impact of these conflicts on employees is vital for organizational health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between conflicting ethical expectations for lying behavior and various employee attitudes.
• To determine how differences between formal ethics codes and supervisor expectations influence employee outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Survey research was conducted with a sample of 140 full-time employees.
• Data were collected on perceptions of ethical codes, supervisor expectations, and employee attitudes.
• Statistical analyses were used to examine the associations between variables.

Main Results:

• A greater difference between formal ethics codes and supervisor expectations for lying behavior was associated with increased employee turnover intentions.
• Increased discrepancies also correlated with higher levels of intrapersonal role conflict among employees.
• Conversely, these conflicts were linked to decreased job satisfaction, organizational satisfaction, and affective commitment.

Conclusions:

• Conflicting ethical expectations regarding lying behavior significantly impact employee attitudes, leading to negative outcomes.
• Organizations must align formal ethical guidelines with supervisory practices to foster a more positive work environment.
• While commitment to continue in the job was not affected, other key indicators of employee well-being and engagement were negatively influenced.