Is it harder to be ethical in a recession?

In Ethics: Harder in a Recession? Mary K Pratt says corporations find it harder to stick to lofty ethical goals at a time when most organisations  focus on cost-cutting.

It’s a good piece, but misses the most important dimension. Pratt worries about green initiatives and corporate responsibility programmes. I’m more concerned about day-to-day ethics.

When the recession hit New Zealand – a year or so before the story appeared – I noticed bosses were quick to drop ethical standards.

In particular I observed:

• Lying – suddenly many companies thought it was OK to tell lies. I sat through a management meeting where a colleague was berated for not lying. This was despite the lie he was told to tell being so obviously untrue it would undermine his and the company’s credibility for a long time into the future. Any gain from the lie – and I suspect there would have been none – would have been short-lived.
• Cheating – I saw close up many examples of companies cheating others – acts of minor dishonesty such as charging for services not delivered.
• Bullying – within days of the recession hitting, I heard bosses threaten employees with lost jobs if they didn’t do x, y or z. The threats and bullying made for a seriously disrupted and demoralised workplace.