Ethics at Work Index: 79.2

Italian employees’ views of ethics at work have improved in some respects compared to 2018. Respondents are more likely to say that honesty is practised always or frequently, and they are less likely to have felt pressured to compromise their organisation’s standards of behaviour or to have been aware of misconduct. 

However, there are some issues that need addressing. Many organisations do not seem to offer the key building blocks of an ethics programme (written standards of ethical business conduct, a means of reporting misconduct confidentially, ethics training, and advice or an information helpline), especially when it comes to a means of reporting misconduct confidentially. Italian employees also have mixed views on some indicators about their management’s commitment to ethics and the ability of their organisation to engage with external stakeholders. Looking ahead, loss of interpersonal interactions due to the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown is the issue that Italian employees are more likely to be concerned about.

 

Organisational culture

  • In 2021, 84% of Italian employees say that honesty is practised always or frequently in their organisation, which is a notable improvement compared to 2018 (76%).
  • The percentage of employees who have felt pressured to compromise their organisation’s standards of behaviour has decreased in Italy compared to 2018 (12% vs 17%). The main source of pressure for Italian employees comes from the need to follow their boss’s orders (31%), followed by time pressure/unrealistic deadlines (29%).
  • Employees in Italy are notably less likely to say that they have been aware of misconduct at work compared to 2018 (19% vs 29%). The global average is 18%.

Speaking Up

  • In Italy, 54% of employees that have been aware of misconduct at work have spoken up about it with management, another appropriate person, or through any other mechanism. In 2018, this percentage was 50%.
  • The main reasons why employees do not raise their concerns are that they did not believe that corrective action would be taken (42%) and that they felt they might jeopardise their job (38%).
  • 43% of Italian employees who raised their concerns about misconduct they had been aware of, say that they have experienced retaliation for doing so. This is in line with the global average (43%).
  • Italian employees who have spoken up about the misconduct they have been aware of are among the least likely to say that they are satisfied with the outcome (48%), alongside Portugal (45%).  

The ethics programme

  • Employees in Italy are less likely than average to say that they are aware of three of the four building blocks of an ethics programme considered, with the exception of ethics training which is in line with the global average. In particular, less than half of Italian respondents are aware of an information helpline for ethics (32%) and of a means of reporting misconduct confidentially (41%), which is among the lowest across all countries surveyed and is 3 pp lower than in 2018.    
  • Compared to 2018, Italian employees are more likely to be aware of three of the four building blocks considered. The biggest increase has been recorded with reference to the provision of an information helpline on ethics (32% vs 23%).

Embedding ethics through a supportive environment

  • In Italy, 69% of employees say that their line manager sets a good example of ethical business behaviour (the global average is 71%), 70% say that their line manager explains the importance of honesty and ethics in the work they do (the global average is 65%), 68% say that their line manager supports them in following their organisation’s standards of ethical behaviour (which is in line with the global average), and 67% say that senior management takes ethics seriously in their organisation (the global average is 70%). 33% of Italian employees also say that their line manager rewards employees who get good results, even if they use practices that are ethically questionable (the global average is 32%).
  • 73% of Italian employees say that their organisation acts responsibly in all its business dealings and 70% that it lives up to its stated policy of social responsibility (the global averages are 76% and 71% respectively).
  • They are less likely than average to say that people in their organisation know what is expected of them in terms of ethical behaviour (75% vs 78% global average) and that in their organisation decisions about people are made fairly (61% vs 65% global average).
  • 65% say that their organisation disciplines employees who violate its ethical standards (the global average is 63%).

Current and future issues

 

  • 40% of employees in Italy say that, considering their organisation’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, their opinion of how ethically their organisation behaves has improved. Only 9% say that it has worsened, while 51% say that it has stayed the same.
  • With regards to the future of the workplace, loss of interpersonal interactions due to the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown is the issue that Italian employees are more likely to be concerned about (46%), followed by the misuse of AI for unethical behaviour (42%).