Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/100231
from the editors Sick Day at the Office 6 January/February 2013 BizEd Jam i e G r i ll/G low I mag es Raqu ita H e n de r son I have a friend who used to work in a toxic office environment controlled by an unsavory boss. One day he would make inappropriate comments about her appearance; the next day, he���d denigrate her work. One of the most unnerving things he did was ask her to forge his wife���s name on his income tax returns. My friend refused (not wanting to commit a crime)���but didn���t report him to his supervisor (not wanting to lose her job). It wasn���t much of a shock when she eventually was fired, an event most people find devastating. But she told me that, as her boss outlined all the reasons he was letting her go, she felt her spirits start to rise. Her one clear thought was I���m free! I���m free! No part of her story would be a surprise to Temple University���s Robert Giacalone or Rider University���s Mark Promislo. They���ve taught courses and conducted research about the far-reaching effects of bad behavior in the workplace. Their conclusion? Harassment, mockery, bullying, and other forms of bad behavior can have quantifiably negative effects on the people who suffer, witness, and even perpetrate the abuses. Poor ethical choices literally can make a workforce ill. In this issue���s ���Sick About Unethical Business,��� Giacalone and Promislo outline the tactics they���ve used in the classroom to help students understand the true costs of unethical behavior. A different approach to the topic is discussed in ���Business Through an Ethical Lens.��� It describes the Ethical Lens Inventory, or ELI, a tool developed by EthicsGame that helps individuals discover how their personal perspectives influence their approaches to ethical dilemmas. Some will be guided by the needs of the community and others by the needs of the individual; some will interpret situations emotionally, while others will strive to act rationally. Of course, when students complete the ELI, they most often find that they view situations through a mixture of perspectives. What���s important, say educators, is that students learn that there are many ways people could react to the same situation. As for my friend who was fired, there���s a happy ending. A few months after she left the corporate job, she started a cleaning business out of her home. She said, ���The things I do for my clients are so simple, but they love me. I never knew I could feel so good about myself and my job.��� She���s living proof that happy employees are more productive employees who have more to contribute to the company���s bottom line, whether that company is the place they work or the business they own. Employees can���t be entirely happy or productive unless there���s a strong sense of ethics in the workplace���and that���s something business students need to learn in school.