Society and culture are changing faster than ever before in history. Technology is said to double roughly every 18 months. Everything about healthcare including its delivery is changing. The workplace now employs up to five generations under one roof. These are some interesting and challenging times and what is greatly needed is strong ethical leadership.
What Are Ethics?
Ethics simply put, are the moral principles – what is right and acceptable, that help to govern a group or person’s behavior. The word ethics is derived from the Greek word Ethos which means character used to guide beliefs, values and ideals for a company, community or an entire nation.
What About Professional Ethics?
Greatly needed as well, are professional ethics including personal, organizational or corporate standards of behavior which are expected by professionals. Professional ethics, then refer to the highest goals of an organization or a profession, which can be maintained and enhanced by a strong and ethical leader.
Benefits of Ethical Leadership
Countless studies examining the relationships between ethics, professionalism, and leadership in the workplace, regardless of industry, all come to similar conclusions. It is far better to have an ethical leader in charge because the benefits are numerous. Here is a brief snapshot of three benefits of ethical leadership in the workplace.
1. Ethical Leadership Improves Job Satisfaction
This seems like a no-brainer, but the evidence lies within the leader’s behaviors that lead to employees experiencing a healthier and happier work environment. For instance, fairness, honesty, caring and genuine concern for employees are associated with high-quality relationships, ethical work behavior, and satisfaction in the workplace.
Leaders who act as a moral and highly visible presence tend to create happiness across their workforce. In turn, employees will feel compelled to reciprocate with better performance and stronger commitment.
2. Ethical Leadership Enhances Emotional Commitment
Ethical leaders set the stage where employees can feel greater connection and emotional attachment, involvement and identification to their workplace environment or company as a whole. Strong emotional bonds are created through the social exchange that takes place on a daily basis between the leader and staff. What takes place is a reciprocity of positive attitudes and behaviors throughout the workplace. Ethical leaders encourage their employees to feel respected, treated fairly, supported and in the end emotionally committed.
3. Ethical Leadership Protects Employees from Burnout
Because ethical leadership is associated with outcomes like improved job satisfaction, happiness at work, and feeling emotionally connected to one’s job and the organization, it would seem to make sense that, although daily stressors will come and go, these same benefits may protect employees from burnout. In a sense, ethical leadership acts as a buffer against negative work-related experiences like being overwhelmed, frustrated, overworked, and unable to cope.
Final Thoughts on Ethical Leadership in the Workplace
There are all sorts of leaders out there as well as leadership styles. Perhaps the most basic and important style is simple ethical leadership. This means doing good things for employees. It involves fairness and honesty as well as experiencing and displaying genuine care and concern for their well-being. Ethical leadership has many benefits including job satisfaction, emotional commitment and protection against job burnout.