I finished analyzing the first set of data from the Tribal Leaders Institute courses and all I can conclude logically is that a bunch of people lied through their teeth on their answers. For example, we had a 24-item questionnaire that asked people how often they did things like come to work ten minutes late or more, talk on the phone on personal business for more than five minutes during the work day and so on.
The most common score, from more than a fourth of those who took the courses, was ZERO .
That might make some people say none of these folks needed to take the course because before they even took it they were perfect. I say they lied on the questionnaire. Why the heck would you do that, anyway, lie on an anonymous questionnaire? How do I know people lied?
First of all, how many people NEVER come to work late, NEVER talk to anyone on the phone, NEVER take a sick day unless sick, NEVER use the printer at work to print off something for home or school.
I did not score a zero on the survey and I think I am a pretty ethical person. To be honest, I very often arrive at work ten minutes late or more. If I have a meeting when someone might be kept waiting I make every effort to arrive on time. However, punctuality is not one of my strong points. When I record my hours, I record the hours I actually showed up. I am not a morning person but I very often work until 7 p.m. As Erich pointed out, I never would have taken a job that required me to be there at 8 a.m. because I just wouldn't make it.
I generally don't answer my cell phone during business hours, and the only people outside of those I would talk to on business who have my office number are my husband, my daughters and my youngest daughter's school. If any of those people call, I answer it. So, while I don't spend lots of time on the phone, I can't say never. My youngest child is only eleven years old and she does call on occasion about something SHE thinks is an emergency, such as being given permission to leave day care to go to the mall with a group of boys and girls from her school. (My answer - when hell freezes over. )
How can I say that I am an ethical employee? Well, I work the hours for which I am paid, I try the very best I can to get a day's work done every day. I make decisions that are best for our customers AND for me.
Let's talk about generosity for a minute. I knew a woman who often came to work late. She would then "make up" the hours by being in the office on the weekend, so she could get paid for a 40 hour week. I asked her,
If you are an ethical, generous employee you think about meeting your client's needs, not just about meeting your own needs. Which is why, when I got back from vacation on Sunday afternoon I answered all the email that came in while I was gone. I may not be in bright and early on Monday morning, but the answers to all those questions will be in the person's mail no matter how early they get in.
Okay, I got carried away and distracted from my subject which was people lying on the questionnaires. You see, we ask people to complete MANY questionnaires as part of our ethics training. One we have had about 200 people complete from various reservations ask what are the five major ethical issues. Over and over, we see "not working the full hours" as the first or second major issue. As Dr. Longie says, when you work a 25-hour week and get paid for 40, you are stealing from the tribe.
As a logical person, I can't quite understand how when so many people "never" come to work late, "never" run personal errands during business hours, "never" call in sick when they are well, "never" go on unnecessary travel at tribal expense, why the biggest problem their fellow tribal members see is employees not being at work.
People lie all the time to make themselves look good. Cut it out. Lying is bad.
LEARN MORE ...
To read more about one particular survey, on the five biggest ethical issues, click here for our September newsletter. Look for more on results from our surveys in the November newsletter, coming soon.
The most common score, from more than a fourth of those who took the courses, was ZERO .
That might make some people say none of these folks needed to take the course because before they even took it they were perfect. I say they lied on the questionnaire. Why the heck would you do that, anyway, lie on an anonymous questionnaire? How do I know people lied?
First of all, how many people NEVER come to work late, NEVER talk to anyone on the phone, NEVER take a sick day unless sick, NEVER use the printer at work to print off something for home or school.
I did not score a zero on the survey and I think I am a pretty ethical person. To be honest, I very often arrive at work ten minutes late or more. If I have a meeting when someone might be kept waiting I make every effort to arrive on time. However, punctuality is not one of my strong points. When I record my hours, I record the hours I actually showed up. I am not a morning person but I very often work until 7 p.m. As Erich pointed out, I never would have taken a job that required me to be there at 8 a.m. because I just wouldn't make it.
I generally don't answer my cell phone during business hours, and the only people outside of those I would talk to on business who have my office number are my husband, my daughters and my youngest daughter's school. If any of those people call, I answer it. So, while I don't spend lots of time on the phone, I can't say never. My youngest child is only eleven years old and she does call on occasion about something SHE thinks is an emergency, such as being given permission to leave day care to go to the mall with a group of boys and girls from her school. (My answer - when hell freezes over. )
How can I say that I am an ethical employee? Well, I work the hours for which I am paid, I try the very best I can to get a day's work done every day. I make decisions that are best for our customers AND for me.
Let's talk about generosity for a minute. I knew a woman who often came to work late. She would then "make up" the hours by being in the office on the weekend, so she could get paid for a 40 hour week. I asked her,
"How can you justify that? How can you say that you made up for not being there during the week when clients come to meet with you by sitting in your office on Saturday afternoon when the place is closed? This isn't high school where you are doing detention by staying in on Saturday for cutting class! "
If you are an ethical, generous employee you think about meeting your client's needs, not just about meeting your own needs. Which is why, when I got back from vacation on Sunday afternoon I answered all the email that came in while I was gone. I may not be in bright and early on Monday morning, but the answers to all those questions will be in the person's mail no matter how early they get in.
Okay, I got carried away and distracted from my subject which was people lying on the questionnaires. You see, we ask people to complete MANY questionnaires as part of our ethics training. One we have had about 200 people complete from various reservations ask what are the five major ethical issues. Over and over, we see "not working the full hours" as the first or second major issue. As Dr. Longie says, when you work a 25-hour week and get paid for 40, you are stealing from the tribe.
As a logical person, I can't quite understand how when so many people "never" come to work late, "never" run personal errands during business hours, "never" call in sick when they are well, "never" go on unnecessary travel at tribal expense, why the biggest problem their fellow tribal members see is employees not being at work.
People lie all the time to make themselves look good. Cut it out. Lying is bad.
LEARN MORE ...
To read more about one particular survey, on the five biggest ethical issues, click here for our September newsletter. Look for more on results from our surveys in the November newsletter, coming soon.
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