Legend has it that if you string garlic around your house, you can ward off vampires. What if there was something similar you could do to ward off unethical behavior in the workplace? Apparently, religious symbols may keep you away from an unethical boss.
A forthcoming study in the Academy of Management Journal found that if employees displays moral symbols, it could help prevent their managers from asking them to cheat or engage in other bad behavior. Sreedhari Desai of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill conducted field research at Indian firms to test whether those who kept a religious symbol at their desks were treated differently by their bosses to those who did not. She found that managers were less likely to ask employees to act unethically if they displayed some indication of moral values.
The research used a broad swath of items to be considered moral symbols: quotes in email signatures, religious symbols, pictures of Martin Luther King, Jr., etc.
In one experiment, participants had to decide whether to ask one of their subordinates to tell a business lie. Only 46% of those who read the moral quote chose to issue that request, but nearly 64% of those who saw a neutral quote did. Among subjects who decided to give the unethical instruction, those who saw the moral message in the email signature from one employee were more likely to ask another employee instead.
She came up with three theories:
- Managers may be reluctant to put seemingly moral employees in an awkward situation.
- Managers may fear that such people are more likely to blow the whistle on any improper demands.
- Exposure to a moral sentiment or symbol makes a manager reconsider the improper behavior and change the request.
It may that this experiment is an effect similar to what Dan Ariely saw in some experiments. Reminding people to do the right thing has a positive effect on creating more ethical behavior.
Sources:
- MORAL SYMBOLS: A NECKLACE OF GARLIC AGAINST UNETHICAL REQUESTS by Sreedhari Desai⇑ and Maryam Kouchaki in the Academy of Management Journal
- Cross the boss in The Economist
- When Those Inspiring Messages In Your Email Signature May Actually Work by SREEDHARI D. DESAI AND MARYAM KOUCHAKI in Fast Company
- How a Buddha on your desk could ward off an evil boss by Jena McGregor in the Washington Post
- Remind People to Do the Right Thing
Halloween Garlic from Graphic Leftovers
Yes, but if you hang garlic around your cubicle, will that ward off external auditors?
And co-workers