Adhering to strict moral principles for doing business (even at the expense of your own benefit) in a highly competitive environment can be very difficult. Therefore, leaders and managers who try to adhere to a certain ethical code experience great psychological stress and stress. What could be the consequences?
Russell Johnson, associate professor of management at the University of Michigan (USA), and colleagues conducted a study to find out how the commitment of leaders to ethical principles in business practices affects their relationships with subordinates.
The researchers conducted a total of 172 managers who worked in different areas – in particular, in retail, education, industrial production and healthcare. Each of them was observed for several days. They found that managers who made “ethical” decisions in a situation of choice were significantly more likely to mistreat their subordinates in the following days.
Russell Johnson emphasizes that adherence to strict principles is not always easy: “Ethical principles imply that leaders often have to sacrifice self-interest by behaving “in the right way” and not “in the right way.” They also need to monitor not only the bottom line of their subordinates, but the entire process of their activities to make sure they too are held to the same standards.”
It is important to be distracted from work during non-working hours, if possible, turn off the phone in the evening and at night
The result is psychological burnout. In addition to this, often people who have done some good deed allow themselves immoral behavior in some other situations. Under the influence of these two factors, managers break down on subordinates.
To combat psychological exhaustion, Russell Johnson recommends that leaders take breaks during the workday, get enough sleep, eat right, and exercise. It is also important to be distracted from work after hours, in particular, if possible, turn off the phone in the evening and at night.
Johnson’s previous research showed that employees who try to get as much done as possible, and because of this, do some work tasks after nine in the evening (especially using smartphones), usually end up doing no more, if not less than usual – because that the next day their productivity drops due to lack of rest.
As for the “permission” to violate moral principles after doing the right thing, there is still little research on this phenomenon and it is not entirely clear how to deal with it. Yet Johnson advises organizations to develop a formal code of ethics. He believes that if ethical behavior becomes mandatory, managers will no longer consider it their personal merit, which gives them “permission” to be rude to subordinates.