The seventh ethical principle of the construction industry encourages addressing misconduct. When was the last time you noticed a situation where you acted wrongly or unethically? Did you intervene? If you intervened, what was the result?
Quite often we don't intervene and hope that someone else will. What prevents intervention? Have the instructions and principles remained unclear? Do we want to avoid the reputation of a tight hat and belittlement? Do we transfer responsibility too sensitively to a colleague, supervisor or boss? However, you shouldn't close your eyes or appeal to haste, because staying silent is a tacit acceptance of the wrong kind of activity.
The task of management and supervisors is to both encourage good and correct behavior and to intervene in abuses. Act as an example and set a model for others. Supervisors say that addressing abuses is part of the supervisor's job. "When you know how to talk about things, interfering with them doesn't feel that strange."
Address abuses
If you suspect that an operator is violating ethical principles or the law, point it out to the parties involved and, if necessary, file a report with the authorities.
In the survey of members of the construction industry, about 60 percent of the respondents completely agreed with the statement that one always intervenes in unethical activity when one recognizes it and that it is easy to raise issues related to ethics. Only a few percent disagreed with these statements. On the other hand, the survey was answered by top management, for whom the threshold for intervention and speaking up is certainly lower than other personnel.
The most difficult thing is if you feel that someone in a higher position in the organization or, for example, a customer is acting inappropriately. In the open feedback, it was stated that "intervening in grievances is apparently particularly difficult if the cause of the grievance is one's superior".
To make it easier to deal with abuses, many companies have established so-called WhistleBlowing reporting channels, where not only the organization's management and staff, but also outsiders can anonymously report their observations of suspected abuse. A separately appointed ethics committee or something similar evaluates the seriousness of the notification received on the WhistleBlowing channel, after which the actual investigation of the matter starts.
Ethics is caring and ethics matter
Ethical, correct and fair operating methods are of central importance in terms of the organization's reputational risk, market position, trust, and also employee commitment and motivation.
According to research, 81 percent of employees are ready to recommend their workplace to others when they feel that their organization operates ethically. A corresponding proportion of employees also believed that customers would recommend the company to other customers. Only a fifth of the employees are ready to recommend the company to others, when they feel that the organization does not work ethically.
The results of the construction industry member survey were also similar. 88 percent of the respondents would not want to work for an employer whose reputation indicates that not all operating methods are ethical.
Ethical principles are internal documents of the organization, voluntarily defined guidelines that are stricter than legislation, and by following them it is ensured that the organization's worst reputational risks and threats do not materialize in practice. In addition to the organization's management and personnel, subcontractors and members of stakeholder groups are also expected to act in accordance with the ethical rules of the game.
See also
- NCC's Marja Vanhala: In ethical questions, open discussion and joint reflection are essential
- Other parts of the Ethical Principles in Practice writing series
More information
- Merja Vuoripuro, Construction Industry RT ry
tel. 040 587 2642, merja.vuoripuro@rakennusteollisuus.fi - Sari Puurtinen, Juuriharja Consulting Group Oy
tel. 040 676 3772, sari.puurtinen@juuriharja.fi
Root brush is a coaching company specializing in ethical management.