Integrity costs nothing, but when you lose it, you lose everything, writes Charissa Bloomberg, celebrity psychologist, international speaker and integrity leadership specialist.
A reputation takes years to build, but can be easily lost. Once trust and credibility are lost, it’s a long road to recovery.
Yet integrity is often undervalued and not widely practised.
What happens in organisations when an employee or leader has an integrity lapse? Can your organisation afford the cost of an integrity lapse?
An organisation’s success depends on the integrity of its employees. We have all witnessed the severe issues that result when people act without integrity. When an organisation’s reputation is damaged, it’s almost impossible to reverse the damage.
A lapse can give the entire organisation a bad name. Minor lapses may include an employee promising a customer delivery by a certain time, but failing to do so, not keeping their word, telling white lies, avoiding accountability, or providing poor service – all which count as small integrity lapses. Of course, larger lapses include corruption, theft and misappropriation of funds.
The value of ethics and integrity is often misunderstood, undervalued and not practised enough. No one wants to do business with a person or organisation they can’t trust, and in a world where a bad review can quickly spread on social media, organisations must prioritise integrity in their training. Once trust and credibility are compromised, even in a minor way, it can take years to rebuild credibility, if ever.
It’s time to reintroduce integrity into the workplace. It’s a fundamental value we all need for conducting business, yet it’s one thing lacking in so many organisations. No one will do business with a person or organisation that they can’t trust.
Why is it so rare?
Living with integrity requires constant evaluation of every decision and interaction. The culture of instant gratification often leads people to make unethical decisions without considering the consequences.
People often refer to the “structural integrity of buildings”, which refers to the safety or reliability of the building.
Nobody would work inside a building that was not structurally safe, yet millions of people work in companies without certification of assurance or the integrity of their people.
Integrity is crucial in all spheres of life, but the way that it plays out in the workplace is vital because the repercussions of low integrity are damaging and far-reaching – an organisation’s success depends on it. Integrity is an underlying moral code that compels a person to do the right thing in every circumstance.
Psychological costs
As a psychologist, I believe that most people have a moral compass that allows them to distinguish right from wrong. The challenge lies in acting according to this moral compass, especially in workplaces lacking integrity. For those committed to integrity, the psychological costs in such an environment are high: they place pressure on the person, create stress in their body, and compromise not only their wellbeing, but also their productivity.
These stressed employees can experience adrenal fatigue as well as feelings of isolation, especially if the honest individual feels they are surrounded by corrupt colleagues.
The organisational costs of low integrity
Organisations perceived by their employees as lacking integrity face resentment, high employee turnover, and absenteeism, which all affect their bottom line. Employees may seek transfers to other branches, and if they are of good calibre, are likely to find another job, leaving the organisation with ‘dead wood’. Additionally, the immediacy of social media spells certain doom for organisations whose customers perceive them to have low integrity.
Can integrity be taught?
To some extent, integrity can be taught through experiential learning by guiding individuals to tap into their inherent integrity. Workshops and focus groups can simulate environments where individuals practise integrity and learn to value it by experiencing how good it feels to do the right thing.
By promoting personal integrity within the workplace, companies can create a culture of integrity at every level. Additionally, just as individuals can learn and practise integrity, organisations can also be taught how to implement it as a strategic driver of success.
High integrity workplaces
Companies must view integrity as a strategic issue, and implement an integrity strategy so that it becomes embedded in the organisational culture, making it a daily practice rather than a lofty goal.
Rewarding integrity in the workplace
This is a controversial issue that largely depends on the type and size of the organisation, the symptoms of low integrity they exhibit, and their strategic goals regarding integrity.
In general, I believe that acting with integrity is its own reward – it feels good and it feels right. Organisations and universities can certainly be taught how to roll out integrity as a strategic driver of success.
While organisations can foster integrity internally, it is also important to take a step back and consider the broader implications of integrity on a national and global scale: “Where does our country stand on the integrity meter today?
How about the world? What are we going to do about it? If we don’t do something, what is in store for us?”
In considering these reflective questions, it becomes clear that we need to impart integrity-conscious skills and build resilience to temptation.
