The Global Business Ethics Survey (GBES) conducted by the Ethics & Compliance Initiative (ECI) provides valuable insights into workplace ethics and compliance from the perspective of employees. Tom Fox recently had the opportunity to visit with ECI CEO Pat Harned on the 2023 GBES. This survey has become a reliable benchmark for organizations to compare their workplace culture with third-party research, allowing them to identify areas for improvement and address potential risks.

Over the past 30 years of GBES research, ECI has identified and proven that certain “outcome” metrics are indicative of the well-being of workplaces from an ethics & compliance perspective. In this, the largest and latest update to the GBES body of research, employees in 42 countries around the world told us that there is reason for concern. In Part 1 of a five-part blog post series on the 2023 GBES, Tom Fox and Pat Harned provide an overview of the GBES.

Pat Harned is a seasoned compliance professional committed to fostering ethical conduct in the business sector. As the CEO of ECI, Pat has a unique perspective on the global business ethics survey: insights into workplace ethics and compliance, shaped by her 16 years of involvement with the survey. She finds the recent survey results deeply troubling, pointing out several issues, such as high levels of employee pressure to compromise standards, increased misconduct, persistent retaliation, and a low percentage of employees reporting a strong ethical culture in their workplaces. Pat underscores the significance of a robust ethics and compliance program and is confident that the survey data can offer valuable benchmarks and recommendations for organizations aiming to enhance their programs. Join Tom Fox and Pat Harned as they delve deeper into this topic in the upcoming episode of the 2023 GBES podcast.

Key Highlights:

Join us in Part 2, where we consider the findings of the observation of workplace misconduct.

Resources:

ECI

2023 Global Business Ethics Survey

Blog Post on the 2023 GBES, Part 1