Friday, February 28, 2014

Why Even the Best Workers Lie and Cheat


If we only worked with nice, honest people life would be much easier, wouldn’t it? Unfortunately, the workplace often has its share of liars and cheats.
But before you begin pointing the finger, consider the fact that research shows even the nicest among us is likely to cheat if they feel they won’t get caught, and those that do cheat enjoy it. Getting away with something makes people feel good.
Unethical behavior like lying and cheating not only fails to evoke a negative emotional reaction from the people who demonstrate it, but can give them an “emotional high,” say researchers from Wharton University, the London Business School, the University of Washington and Harvard Business School.
The experiments conducted by the researchers found that when individuals were confronted with moral decisions that didn’t seem to directly impact a specific individual, then they were less likely to feel badly when they lied or cheated. So, if you can fudge that expense report or stuff some office supplies into your backpack, then you may not feel badly about it – not like you would if you stole $5 out of a coworker’s pocket.
“I think we often presume that guilt and remorse are going to hold people back. As humans, I really think we’re quite good at justifying our own behavior and putting it out of our mind in a way that makes guilt and remorse poor disincentives,” says Wharton professor Maurice E. Schweitzer.
In his new book, “The Truth about Trust,” David DeSteno explains that his research shows that 90% of those in an experiment cheated because they didn’t think they would get caught, even though they had earlier said such behavior was wrong. When asked about their cheating, they reported believing that what they did was acceptable, even as they condemned others for doing the same thing.
“They were perfect hypocrites – absolving themselves of guilt for the same moral failures for which they condemned others – and as such were immune (read more here)

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