Integrity in the Workplace: Definition, importance, and examples
A reputable workplace looks for job seekers with several qualities. Integrity is at the top of the list for many Malaysian employers. Whether you're a new or long-standing employee, you should always have integrity. Here's what this guide will cover:
- What is integrity in the workplace?
- Why is workplace integrity important?
- How to demonstrate integrity in the workplace
- Examples of workplace integrity
- Examples of poor workplace integrity
- Promoting workplace integrity
- Conclusion
- FAQs
What is integrity in the workplace?
Integrity is the practice of having high moral principles and ethical values. It involves being honest, reliable, transparent, and accountable. If you're a job seeker looking for your next opportunity in Malaysia, showing integrity in your interviews can go a long way. This quality is desirable in every workplace. A workplace with integrity fosters a positive work culture and enhances teamwork and collaboration.
Here are some common traits of someone with high integrity:
Responsible
If you have integrity, you feel responsible for your actions. If you do something wrong, you immediately take accountability and own up to your mistakes. This is a necessary trait to have, as Malaysian employers often look for responsible job seekers when hiring for a new position.
Helpful
It's always good to offer a helping hand whenever needed. If you're helpful in the workplace, you have integrity. Employers may see this as an ideal trait as it shows you value teamwork and want to see others succeed.
Trustworthy
If you have integrity, you may be a person who everyone can rely on. You follow up on your commitments and complete all your tasks within their deadlines. People can go to you with personal and confidential information, as they trust that you won't leak it or share it with anyone in the workplace.
Hardworking
A workplace may prefer to hire someone who displays that they're a hard worker. If you're a hardworking person, you come to work on time and strive to meet all your goals for the day before you check out. This can have a positive impact on your employers.
Patient
It's always important to be patient in the workplace, as you may have to face challenges or obstacles unexpectedly. You need to take a step back, breathe, and go through every obstacle one by one until you meet your goal. This indicates a sense of integrity.
Why is workplace integrity important?
Integrity in the workplace can be beneficial for everyone. Everyone wants to feel at peace at their workplace. Here's why demonstrating professional integrity is important:
Positive work culture
Workplace integrity improves teamwork and collaboration, which promotes a positive work culture. When the team succeeds, everyone succeeds. It fosters trust among employees and their employers and builds a strong community at work.
High retention rate
Workplaces that lack integrity may suffer from a low retention rate. Employees who have integrity want to stay with a company through thick and thin. They enjoy the work environment and prefer to be around people who share the same core values as they do.
Ethical work environment
Employees with high levels of integrity are more likely to make ethical decisions, follow company policies, and maintain confidentiality. They respect their workplace and do their best to follow the code of conduct. An ethical work environment can develop with the help of employees with integrity.
Dedicated team
A workplace with integrity promotes dedication among the employees. Everyone feels a special connection with their team for showing integrity. They often aim to be as dedicated as possible to their work so that they can all succeed together rather than as individuals.
How to demonstrate integrity in the workplace
Whether you're working in a small business or a large corporation in Malaysia, how you show your integrity can impact the entire workplace. Here are some steps you can take to demonstrate integrity in the workplace and help develop a positive company culture:
Acknowledge your colleagues
If you see someone working hard, you should acknowledge their effort. This can boost their morale and make them feel seen. If you see someone not getting the credit they deserve, it's important to speak up and acknowledge them.
Take responsibility for your actions
It's not often that you see someone owing up to their mistakes. You should take responsibility for your actions, as this shows that you have integrity. The hard part is admitting that you did something wrong. Everything falls into place after that, and you feel a weight lifted off you.
Communicate openly and honestly
Communication is the key to success in any workplace. In Malaysia, employees have the tendency to avoid speaking up and withhold full disclosure, which can contribute to confusion and distrust in the workplace. Employees who communicate honestly and employers who are transparent with their team often make up a positive work culture. Everyone benefits equally from employees who communicate openly with each other.
Respect the moral and ethical code
When you enter your workplace, it's crucial that you follow the code set by the company. Even if you disagree with the company's code and ethical guidelines, you should still respect them. This shows that you have integrity and can separate your personal life from your work life.
Be a positive team player
In Malaysia, it's common for companies to adopt a hierarchical culture that can sometimes lead to power abuse. No one likes a person who wants to boss everyone around instead of helping them. A person with integrity is a team player who leads by example and works with their team members to ensure that everyone succeeds together.
Respect others' opinions
Respect the opinions of your coworkers even if they don't relate to your own. You must help them feel heard and that their opinions are valid, even if you don't agree with them.
Care for company property
People can be liable for property damage if they don't care for their workplace's property. It's important to care for company property as you would care for your own. Respecting your workplace is a sign of your high integrity.
Be ready to work
To demonstrate integrity in your working environment and lead your team by example, you must be ready to work even in the early hours of the day. This helps foster strong work ethics and a positive attitude in your team.
Examples of workplace integrity
Here are examples of workplace integrity to better understand how you can work on demonstrating integrity at work:
Protecting confidentiality
If someone trusts you with their personal information or if you accidentally come across some confidential documents, keep it to yourself instead of spreading it around the workplace. This shows your colleagues and employers that you have integrity.
For example, your supervisor leaves their performance reviews on their desk and you see them as you're searching for another document they asked for. Rather than telling others about the confidential information and how your peers are doing, you can keep the information to yourself. Another consideration is to tell your supervisor that you saw the reviews so they can improve their skills at keeping documents organised and filed away.
Taking responsibility
One of the hardest things to do is owning up to your mistakes and taking responsibility for your actions. Owning up to your mistakes can improve how others perceive you. Your colleagues are likely to appreciate your honesty and transparency.
Let's look at an example of this situation. Say you have a deadline for an important project, and you don't have a crucial report done, which makes you miss the project's deadline. Rather than make excuses for the incomplete report, take responsibility and ensure that this doesn't happen again.
Acknowledging coworkers
In a busy workplace, it may be hard for employers to track every employee and acknowledge their efforts during the day. If you see someone working hard but not receiving appreciation, help them feel seen and heard.
Let's say you're having a busy week at work where everyone has specific tasks and deadlines to meet. You notice that your colleagues aren't receiving thanks for their hard work, so you let them know that they're doing a really good job. This promotes a positive work environment and helps other team members feel valued for their efforts.
Facing challenges
You're bound to face obstacles and challenges in some way at your workplace. Face these challenges headfirst to set a good example and show that you have integrity in the workplace. This can improve your image in front of your coworkers as well.
For example, you are helping manage a project by creating a budget within set financial constraints. Each part of the project has a strict budget, but one part exceeds the set amount. The challenge now is to fit the rest of the project into a smaller budget. You can show integrity in this instance by communicating the project's challenges and explaining why a part of the project exceeded the budget allowance.
Examples of poor workplace integrity
Let's look at some examples of poor workplace integrity better to understand how to avoid presenting your values in a bad light:
Blaming team members
One of the worst things you can do at your workplace is to blame your team members if something goes wrong. Blame can also foster a hostile work culture for the entire team. Let's say that one team member was responsible for updating the management about a project. However, they forgot to do so, and management came to you for an explanation. Instead of taking responsibility, you blame the team member who forgot.
Instead of blaming the team member, acknowledging how important the update is and discussing a time for a new update meeting can help resolve the situation. This also reinforces your integrity and problem-solving skills.
Damaging company property
If you damage company property, others may perceive you as someone who has no respect for the workplace. You may even lose your job or face a suspension without pay. For example, your manager told you to use the company computer only for work-related tasks. However, you decide to use it for personal use, and now the computer has a virus that deletes much of the company's production data for the day.
If you have extra downtime, rather than using company equipment for personal use, you can ask your supervisor for some additional tasks. Another solution is to use your personal device on your personal time, such as during a break or lunchtime.
Participating in unethical practices
Safety protocols exist for a reason, and ignoring them can have severe consequences. For example, you work on a production line that works around heavy machinery. Safety practices state to never reach past a certain point to grab materials and to wait instead for the materials to come down the line. You decide to reach past this point anyway, and a supervisor sees you do this. This can result in penalties like a warning or immediate termination.
Rather than taking part in this unethical practice, understand why the rules are there in the first place. Oftentimes, there is a good reason, even if it slows down a process. According to the Business Ethics Institute of Malaysia (BEIM), failure to follow standard operating procedures is one of the factors that can have an impact on workplace safety.
Promoting workplace integrity
It's important to lead by example to ensure that your colleagues continue to have integrity in the workplace. Here are some ways that leaders and managers in Malaysia can establish, improve, and maintain integrity in the workplace:
Lead by example
Leading by example is one of the best ways you can promote integrity in the workplace. You're a role model to your team, and they may follow your advice. If you want your team to have integrity in the working environment, you must first have it yourself; the rest is likely to follow.
Implement training programs
If your workplace employs a large number of people, setting up training programmes or workshops is the best way to train them all to have workplace integrity. These programmes can also teach them other skills that relate to integrity, such as communication and how to report an incident.
Report unethical behaviour
While nobody likes a manager who reports on their team members, sometimes doing so can show employees that you're serious about integrity in the workplace. If someone from your team is constantly acting against company policies despite several warnings, it may be best to report them.
Conclusion
Integrity in the workplace can significantly benefit a company's policies by fostering a positive work environment and promoting open, honest communication and teamwork. Employees may have a better relationship with their managers and are more likely to perform to the best of their abilities every day.
It's the responsibility of Malaysian companies and managers to ensure that they implement training workshops and everyone participates. Team leaders and managers should also show workplace integrity, leading by example for the other employees in the company.
FAQs
Here are some frequently asked questions about workplace integrity:
- How does workplace integrity contribute to employee morale and job satisfaction?
Maintaining integrity fosters a positive work culture through open communication and teamwork. This helps boost employee morale and improve job satisfaction, which can encourage integrity in others and promote a positive reputation. - What are some examples of unethical behaviour in the workplace?
Damaging company property, blaming other team members for your mistakes, and leaking personal information are just some examples of unethical behaviour in the workplace. - How can leaders and managers set an example for workplace integrity?
Leaders and managers should come to work on time and work transparently with their team members. They should respect company policies and ethical principles, such as the opinions of their colleagues in the workplace. - How is a code of ethics or conduct typically enforced?
In Malaysia, companies typically enforce a code of ethics by adding it to the employee contract or conducting training programmes regularly. This ethical approach ensures that employees understand and learn to follow the moral and ethical code.
