A workplace that has a culture of excellent character traits and great work ethics is considered an ideal workplace, the reason for this is that at that workplace, there is a sense of duty, ownership, dedication, and respect, all of which can be summed up as having integrity. Any workplace with no standards or rules to uphold will promote an irresponsible and untrustworthy environment.
Integrity simply means being responsible and trustworthy in any scenario. It’s about sustaining moral standards regardless of whether or not you’re visible. Being honest, expressing fairness, and being truthful are all examples of integrity.
Integrity in the workplace is defined as adhering to a system of standards and procedures that encourage dependability, dependency, and accountability. This means that employees can work and provide their best without having to perform in front of a crowd. It indicates trust in the workplace through your acts and words. Supporting and honoring a workplace’s moral and ethical norms is what integrity at work entails.
Every workplace has its own set of standards and ethics that makes it operate efficiently. It is paramount to adhere to this standard, as it promotes a workplace that thrives in truth, responsibilities, and dependency.
Importance of Integrity In the Work Place
The value of workplace integrity cannot be underestimated because it can either support or hinder good workflow. Some of the benefits of having integrity in the job are listed below.
- Encourages Positive work Environment: An organization that encourages and places priority on integrity will experience a positive workflow. Employees will enjoy an atmosphere of fairness and positivity towards work. Employees will be encouraged to achieve tasks and reach milestones.
- Promotes Diversity and Inclusion: having integrity in the workplace is the driving force that fosters diversity and inclusiveness. A well-structured organization has put in place a standard for operation and relations that need to be adhered to. These standards or values are openly viewed as a way to relate with colleagues so that everyone feels part of they are a team.
- Promoting Ethical leadership style: A leader in an organization should be exemplary for others to follow. Leader that values integrity does demonstrate this in their communication, engagement, and decision making, resulting in workplace fairness and trust
Ways by which integrity at the workplace is displayed
Integrity at the workplace can not be an oversight, it is seen in every decision, communication, engagement, and team participation. The characteristics of integrity are what make the workplace thrive in an environment of trust.
Below are some of the ways integrity in the workplace is demonstrated;
Upholding the company standard and policies: Being fully abreast of the company policies and respecting them is one of the ways integrity in the workplace is displayed. Companies have policies that outline the process of workflow, communications, engagements, dress code, and so many more. These policies are to be followed by everyone in the organization.
Showing commitment: this is one way to demonstrate integrity, it shows you are dependable and that you should be relied on to perform your duties. It shows you care for the organization and value your input in achieving organizational objectives.
Take ownership: this shows you are not afraid of being responsible even if mistakes are made, it shows you are accountable to yourself, your team, and the company.
Show up to work: prepare to go to work on time and avoid arriving late with unnecessary excuses. There are times you may experience emergencies or an unforeseen event, that will result in you arriving late or not showing up, it is better to give prior notice.
Be open to the opinion: other people in your workplace may come up with opinions that may seem different to you, showing integrity is respecting others’ opinions, being open to their opinion, and working as a team in brainstorming ways to move forward.
Giving Credit to colleagues: This is an important feature because people find it hard sometimes to give credit to ideas or work, they rather pass it off as their work. Giving credit to whoever comes up with a plan or strategy should be adequately adhered to in a workplace.
Consequences of lack of Integrity in the workplace
The major drawback to a lack of integrity is distrust. A workplace that places that do not value integrity will not function optimally. It means people can do anything they like without being accountable, reliable, and dependable. Some of the examples show how lack of integrity plays out;
- Coming late to work
- Lack of respect for company values and policies
- Wasting people’s time and efforts.
- Refusing to take ownership of your workload.
- Refusing to communicate with teammates
- Refusing to collaborate with your teammate
- Always causing conflict and refusing amicable resolutions.
- All of these depict a lack of integrity in the workplace and it can lead to a lack of productivity. If any of the characteristics of lack of integrity exists in the workplace, it can breed distrust, and disloyalty, and make people disinterested in their task.
How to Encourage Integrity?
Integrity in the workplace is promoted when it is respected by all members of the workforce. It should not be applied selectively and ignored in other areas.
Lead by example: People are drawn to people who set a standard of operations and live by that standard.it is always good for leaders in an organization to display this trait in their engagements with staff.
Be transparent: being transparent is another way that encourages integrity, this way people in the workplace are aware of how things are done.
Show accountability: even if you fail at something at the workplace, take ownership of it by being responsive to your team and managers.
Reward: This may not always be the best approach, but it has a way of encouraging more people on the importance of integrity. This can be done by rewarding or acknowledging people who show integrity in their work and business relationship.
Reporting and discipline: since there is a reward for exercising integrity trait, there should also be some form of discipline associated with not following the standards and principles of integrity trait in the workplace.
Conclusion
Finally, expressing Integrity in the workplace is a trait that encourages uniformity in character. The workplace is simply upholding the values and standards of the organization. It is Characterised as being reliable, honest, truthful, and responsible to yourself, your team, leaders, and the organization. The purpose of having integrity in the workplace is that it is an avenue that shows how communication, relation, and engagement are carried out in an organization. Lack of integrity can negatively impact revenue and motivation in the workplace. In the workplace it should be encouraged to reduce conflict and loss of productivity.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is it ok to hide irrelevant information?
Let the relevance or irrelevant information be determined by your manager, this way you are being more transparent.
- Is it ok to report a concern I see at work to my manager?
A concern is anything that affects you, your workflow, or your team from achieving their objectives, it is always good to inform decision-makers.
