Signs Of The Time, Part 2

Posted In: Signs Of The Time

I once read about a survey which showed 90% of managers at one company felt their ability to communicate with subordinates was “exceptional.” Ironically, the same poll revealed 90% of employees said management needed significant work on improving their communication skills. But, what good is communication if you don’t trust what’s being said? According to the December 17 issue of BusinessWeek, “dissembling” is on the rise in the workplace, as a new survey by the non-profit Ethics Resource Center found. “Dissembling” is basically the polite, business way of saying “lying.” According to the non-profit group, 25% of nearly 2,000 American employees said they observed co-workers lying to customers, suppliers, other workers, and the public. This is up from 19% in 2005.

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The survey showed that dissembling most often took place in the following industries:
• Hospitality/Food (where 34% of employees saw lying taking place)
• Arts/Entertainment/Recreation (34%)
• Wholesalers (32%)

According to the center’s president, Patricia Harned, too much emphasis is being placed on compliance matters (due to the Enron debacle), and not enough attention is being focused on building cultures where lying isn’t tolerated.

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