Ethics Newsline®

From CareerBuilder.com and Harris Interactive:

“Ever wonder why you can’t seem to get anything done in the office? It may be because your co-workers are preoccupied with something other than work. ‘Workplace Taboos’ is a new CareerBuilder.com survey, conducted by Harris Interactive of more than 5,700 workers. The most common workplace taboos that workers admitted to taking part in include:

• “Falling asleep at work (45 percent)
• “Kissing a co-worker (39 percent)
• “Stealing from the office (22 percent)
• “Spreading a rumor about a co-worker (22 percent)
• “Consuming alcoholic beverages while on the job (21 percent)
• “Snooping after hours (18 percent)
• “Lying about an academic background (4 percent)
• “Taking credit for someone else’s work (2 percent)

“Men report that they engage in all of these workplace taboos more than women….

” ‘As companies continue to embrace more casual environments, employees may develop a false sense of informality when it comes to the office behavior,’ said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of human resources at CareerBuilder.com. ‘Employees should make sure they are aware of company policies, so something that initially seems ‘harmless’ doesn’t end up negatively impacting a career.’…”