Work Ethics
One's Morale
Work ethic is a belief that diligent work has value to an individual. It is a set of values centered on importance of work and manifested by determination or desire to work hard. Social entailment of this value is considered to enhance through hard work that is respective to an individual's field of work. Across professions consistency is a direct product of work ethic and a strong work ethic may be viewed as a virtue that adds to a person's character.
Work ethics include not only how one feels about their job, career or vocation, but also how one does his/her job or responsibilities. This involves attitude, behavior, respect, communication, and interaction with others hence demonstrating how a person is as an individual. The begging question is what an individual would do in a particular situation to ascertain what is right and acceptable versus what is wrong, underhanded and under the table.
Ethics concern an individual’s moral judgments about right and wrong. Decisions taken within an organization may be made by individuals or groups, but whoever makes them will be influenced by the culture of the company. The decision to behave ethically is a moral one; employees must decide what they think is the right course of action. This may involve rejecting the route that would lead to the biggest short-term profit.
Throughout the last few years, there have been companies whose work ethic, honesty, integrity and accountability have been rather shady and have a rather negative impact on other people and on the society. Unethical behavior may damage a firm’s reputation and make it less appealing to customers and stakeholders. Work ethics, such as honesty (not lying, cheating, and stealing), doing a job well, valuing what one does, having a sense of purpose and feeling/being a part of a greater vision or plan is vital. Philosophically, if one does not have proper work ethics, a person’s conscience may be bothered.
Ethical behavior and corporate social responsibility can bring significant benefits to a business. For example, they may:
Attract customers to the firm’s products, which means boosting sales and profits;
Make employees want to stay with the business, reduce labor turnover and increase productivity;
Attract more employees wanting to work for the business, reduce recruitment costs and enable the company to get the most talented employees;
Attract investors and keep the company’s share price high, thereby protecting the business from takeover.
Knowing that the company they deal with has stated their morals and made a promise to work in an ethical and responsible manner allows investors peace of mind that their money is being used in a way that arranges with their own moral standing. When working for a company with strong business ethics, employees are comfortable in the knowledge that they are not by their own action allowing unethical practices to continue. Customers are at ease buying products or services from a company they know to source their materials and labor in an ethical and responsible way.
A company which sets out to work within its own ethical guidelines is also less at risk of being fined for poor behavior, and less likely to find themselves in breach of one of a large number of laws concerning required behavior. Reputation is one of a company’s most important assets, and one of the most difficult to rebuild should it be lost. Maintaining the promises it has made is crucial to maintaining that reputation.
The natural world can be affected by a lack of business ethics. For example, a business which does not show care for where it disposes its waste products, or fails to take a long-term view when buying up land for development, is damaging the world in which every human being lives, and damaging the future prospects of all companies. Ethics is important to businesses for many reasons. Businesses can increase sales or increase their reputation. Since work ethics deals with a code of conduct or a set of principles that is acceptable in the work place, we need to look at them as multi dimensional arenas:
A list of work ethics for an employer or a company should be:
To provide a safe work environment for its staff and employees;
To treat employees with dignity and respect;
To provide a fair wage for the services rendered;
To handle all business transactions with integrity and honesty.
A list of work ethics for the employee might include:
To show up on time;
To tend to company business for the whole time while at work;
To treat the company’s resources, equipment, and products with care;
To give respect to the company thus implying honesty and integrity.
Now that we have established what is work ethics, who should apply, why it is relevant, what’s the impact, what’s the cost of being ethical or of being unethical let’s focus on some steps for developing a good work ethics routine as stated below:
Practice Punctuality
Develop the habit of being on time or early for all appointments. Getting to class ahead of schedule gives you the opportunity to talk with your professor or get mentally prepared by reviewing notes. If you’re taking online classes, stick with your study schedule, hitting the books at the time you planned.
Develop Professionalism
Professionalism goes beyond a crisp white shirt and tie. It includes your attitude, values, and demeanor so do practice being positive and cordial. Refrain from gossip. Be respectful of others. Develop a reputation of integrity, which means being honest, just, and consistent in what you say and do.
Cultivate Self-Discipline
Anything worthwhile achieving takes discipline; staying focused on the long-term goal and not being side-tracked by short-term gratification. Train yourself to be persistent and to follow through on projects. Strive for excellence in your assignments.
Use Time Wisely
You might have heard it from your grandmother, but Benjamin Franklin was actually the first to say, “Never leave that ‘till tomorrow which you can do today.” It’s age-old advice, but far from outdated. Complete assignments on time. Ban procrastination from your life, keeping in mind something else Franklin, said: “Time is money.”
Stay Balanced
Having a good work ethic does not mean keeping your eyes glued to your computer monitor. It includes knowing how to take care of you as an individual. A proper sleep, a balance diet, a healthy routine adds onus to one’s productivity and lifestyle. One should always take time to relax and recharge. Keeping your priorities in life clear helps you maintain the proper perspective at work.
Data revealed from an annual survey conducted by the opinion and polling gurus at Harris Interactive, Inc. for CareerBuilder, indicate that the most common excuse employees have given for not showing up to work is being sick. The study was conducted online and included 2,494 hiring managers and human resource professionals and 3,976 workers across industries and company sizes. Thirty percent of workers, however, have called in sick when they have not actually been ill which speaks about the work ethics of those individuals
While you could admire the honesty (and ingenuity) of these employees, most of us would agree that their work ethic needs, well… some work. As a corporate we do abide by the code of conduct of work ethics but it’s about time that we at Delphi Leather do implement the said methodology to the very core on priority basis so as to have a utopia of an environment.
