ethical responsibilities that apply when it comes to employer and employee relationships

ethical responsibilities that apply when it comes to employer and employee relationships

There are ethical responsibilities that apply when it comes to employer and employee relationships. Some of the moral obligations that employees have towards their employers include respect, loyalty, and candor. Respect entails an employee’s obligation to behave as per the policies of the employer, apart from that, it entails being honest and professional to everyone the employee interacts with in the job. The employee also has an obligation of being loyal both to the employer and the company, including not talking ill of their employer, avoiding work outside the company that may pose a conflict of interest, and avoid sharing the company’s information. The employee is also obligated to be open, honest, and frank to their employer.

One of the most significant impacts of whistleblowing towards the future of a company is that it can cause mistrust within the internal system, and this will render the company unproductive because the employees do not have trust and confidence in the behaviors as well as the policies of the employer. The counter-productivity in the company can also be a result of the stress that a given employee undergoes after whistleblowing because, in some instances, employers may take retaliatory actions against such an employee, which may stress them and make them uncomfortable in their job.

Consumers have a significant role when it comes to product safety. Among these essential roles include the monitoring of standards and regulations. This is because standards and regulations are vital indicators of the safety of a given product, keeping in mind that manufacturers keep tailoring their products to meet the dynamic needs and demands of their customers.  Pursuing tests and certification of products by the different manufacturers is also another role that consumers need to play to ensure product safety. Even though manufacturers do safety testing and certification of the safety of their products, third party analysis, and inspection are also crucial in providing products that are safe for consumption.

The government needs to implement strict regulations to protect the health of consumers as they use commercially available products. Federal laws are expected to protect the safety of the environment, animals, as well as human beings from products that are hazardous. Before a given product is released into the market, a given company needs to provide a comprehensive list that includes information concerning the hazards and the safety of the product. The government needs to ensure that companies are complying with the set regulations by providing political goodwill for the enforcement of product safety laws.

Employment at will is a situation whereby an employee can be fired without receiving any warnings, explanations, or reasons from the employer. It can also refer to a situation whereby an employee can quit the job without giving any notice or explanation.  For this reason, there is a need for a high degree of flexibility from both the employee and the employer. Aside from the issue of termination, employment at will can also entail changing terms of work, such as wages without warning, regardless of legal requirements that have been put in place.

Workplace testing is whereby employers screen their potential employees to determine the most suitable candidate for the job. This entails such things as conducting medical tests, psychological tests, and drug tests, among other criteria. I feel workplace testing is essential as it enables an employer to give special considerations to a given employee due to such things as their health status. It may also help the employer to avoid hiring employees who have health conditions that may deter them from performing well in the job through, for instance, such things as requiring too many sick offs. It is, therefore, a fair hiring practice as it forms the basis for establishing reasonable terms of operation for both the employer and the employee.

Employees have an expectation of privacy in the workplace. This privacy entails not searching the employee’s personal items such as their handbags, their private emails, or even such things as their storage lockers at the workplace. There should also be limits in which a given employer monitors the actions of the employee or such things as correspondence or speech. Employees are entitled to privacy in the workplace because their privacy and personal life are equally important as the job and breaching employee privacy is likely to lead to unprofessionalism as this means invading the employees private life and this may, therefore, negatively affect their work performance and other things such as their self-esteem.

Job satisfaction is more important than pay because irrespective of the payment, job satisfaction heightens employee productivity. As much as a good salary can lead to job satisfaction, it is not the only reason that employees get satisfied with their job. Every employee strives for a job that gives them personal happiness and makes them self-motivated to achieve more. Apart from that, every employee desires to have a perfect work-life balance as well as gradual and steady career growth, and all this can happen when the employee is satisfied with their job.

Affirmative action ensures there is diversity in the workplace. This means individuals can embrace other people’s ideas and cultures, even when they are different from theirs. The other advantage of affirmative action promotes equality, and this paves the way for harmony and hence improved productivity at the workplace. The main disadvantage of affirmative action is that it is capable of reinforcing stereotypes and racism because it presupposes that certain people with certain characteristics are of a lower class. The other disadvantage is that it demeans the actual achievements of minorities instead of acknowledging their hard work and abilities. Affirmative action is no longer needed as minorities are empowered, and it is no longer possible to look down upon them.

Wage discrimination is an illegal practice that entails compensating employees with the same qualification and workload unequally.  Gender discrimination in the workplace refers to treating a job applicant or an employee less favorably based on their gender. Race discrimination at the workplace entails treating someone unfavorably at the workplace because of their color. Employers can prevent these forms of discrimination by developing and enforcing policies with prohibit any form of discrimination at the workplace and dealing with any complaints raised promptly and diligently.

I believe ethics can be taught. There will be differences however, in the manner in which different people understand them based on how they have been raised. This implies that parents are the best teachers in this branch of knowledge. So basically, a person’s family, as well as the society at large, will determine the values and ethics that a person will adopt. Most ethical believes are instilled in us through such things as being taught to differentiate actions that are right from the wrong ones. Some absolute basics are, however, inbuilt. For instance, a child would understand that what they are doing is wrong even when they have been told so.

If I were a CEO, I would ensure my employees operated at high ethical standards by being a role model, considering employees tend to look at their managers to understand the acceptable behavior. I would also be sure to communicate my ethical expectations and make sure every employee understands what is required of them. Offering ethical training could also be of great importance. It would also be essential to reward ethical acts visibly and to punish unethical behavior.