Fall 2015 Issue of Horizons

Studies that have researched these generational differences and their impact on the workplace have been completed by several leading organizations. One in particular was a supplemental report issued in 2013 and based on the 2011 National Business Ethics Survey by the Ethics Resource Center (ERC), a non-profit research organization that is devoted to the advancement of high ethical standards and practices in public and private institutions. The survey polled nearly 5,000 participants and was aimed at understanding how employees viewed the concepts of ethics and compliance at work. One of the key findings the ERC felt warranted additional attention was the impact generational perceptions of ethics and rules may have on the workplace.

Attorneys understand that the concept of law largely mirrors society’s collective ethics. These ethics tend to change over periods of times and can be facilitated by different generational perspectives. Similarly, a law firm’s organizational policies tend to reflect the collective ethics of the firm’s constituency. Just as the concept of law changes with different generational perceptions and values, law firms’ organizational policies change as well. What was considered the status quo and acceptable conduct in the workplace may change as the firm’s talent continues to evolve.

WHAT IS CONSIDERED ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR

Source: 2013 Generational Differences in Workplace Ethics – A Supplement Report of the 2011 National Business Ethics Survey www.ethics.org

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