The image of the so-called “white collar” criminal is one with which we are all familiar: the corrupt businessperson with fingers crossed behind their back, who knows just where to find the loopholes in the bureaucratic system that make it easy to hide illicit dealings.
How much does it happen in reality in South Africa? To what extent are professionals engaging in unethical practices at work? And how comfortable do the “good ones” feel in calling out wrongdoing?
The inaugural Anti-Intimidation and Ethical Practices Forum (AEPF) Ethics Perceptions Survey takes a first step in answering
some of these questions, and
the findings are, on some levels, encouraging.
The survey, developed by The Ethics Institute at the behest of the forum, measured the perceptions that professionals (individuals who belong to work-related professional bodies) hold regarding ethics in South African society and organisations.
Although some of the findings are concerning - for example that 14% of professionals feared for their lives when reporting unethical behaviour - it is worth pausing on the finding that many professionals demonstrate moral courage when reporting or speaking out against unethical behaviour.
Dr Paul Vorster, a research specialist at The Ethics Institute, highlights three statistics that support this conclusion.
“About 78% of the 1 890 professionals sampled indicated they feel it is their ‘personal duty’ to report unethical behaviour when it is encountered.
“In other words, four out of every five professionals are guided by their conscience, and therefore at the very least have a strong intention to behave with ethical courage. That intention should not be downplayed or undervalued: without it, any attempt to cultivate an ethical society is in vain.
“However, a more sobering finding revealed that only 56% of professionals indicated that they ‘felt comfortable reporting unethical conduct’, painting an unfavourable picture of the workplace environment as one that does not support professionals to blow the whistle on unethical practices.
“Yet, despite the lack of a supportive environment, 39% of respondents stated that they had reported unethical behaviour in the past - almost four out of 10.”
Vorster maintains this willingness to take on personal risk - to their careers and even to their safety - is the definition of ethical courage.
Given that about 23% of those who had reported in the past
indicated they were “intimidated for doing the right thing” and 22% “feared losing their job for doing the right thing”, these individuals’ acts of bravery should be lauded.
We cannot know who they are, as the survey was anonymous,
but we acknowledge their contribution to furthering ethics in our society.
Finally, the lack of a “supportive environment”, as Dr Vorster described it, could be a reason about a third of respondents would only report unethical behaviour if they remained anonymous.
This finding adds to the growing body of evidence supporting the importance of effective safe reporting mechanisms and the need
for greater protection of whistle-blowers.
Given South Africa’s paralysis of justice at the highest levels of
government and indeed in a number of private-sector companies, emphasis should be placed on encouraging professionals to break ranks and demonstrate white collar courage.
If organisations and professional bodies are successful in doing so, there is reason to hope these findings will be more encouraging in the next iteration of this ground-breaking survey.
The findings of the survey were released on September11, by Dr Claudelle von Eck, chairperson of the AEPF and chief executive of the Institute of Internal Auditors SA.
Professor Rossouw is chief executive at The Ethics Institute