Sex And Religion At The Workplace example essay topic

What are ethics? Ethics is the discipline of dealing with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation, a set of moral principles or values (Webster Dictionary, 426). Is it ethical to talk about sex and or religion at work? A lot of people would agree that it is unprofessional and unethical to discuss sex or religion at the workplace. Sex and religion are two topics, which are morally based and far too personal. What are the ground rules?

Where do you draw the line? It's simple; the Human Resource Department sets the rules and standards. We must follow these rules or we are subject to punishment. The rules are based on ethics. At CCI TRIAD it is listed as one of the policies. No comments or emails containing remarks or jokes discriminating against any race, creed, national origin, religion, age, sex, sexual preference, political beliefs, or disability is allowed and prohibited.

This type of behavior is not tolerated and is dealt with in a serious matter. Everyone has his or her own morals, beliefs, values, and ethical standards. What can one consider the ground rules to be when dealing with sex and religion at the workplace? My personal belief is that any comment made that can be construed as defensive to another individual is not acceptable. Though many people believe in God, he is not an appropriate topic in the workplace. A simple touch on the back or hand can be construed as sexual harassment.

It goes back to being a matter of ethics and everyone having their own individual beliefs. A remark or innocent pat on the back can be considered to be appropriate or innocent by you. However, an employee crosses the line when his / her use of remarks poses possible legal or ethical issues. Communication at the workplace should always conform to proper business language and practices. As far as what the proper office conduct should be, a more stringent set of ground rules may make for a more productive working environment.

Business discussion be via email, person to person, and / or instant messenger should always be business based or work related. Having too much access outside of the company on a regular basis results in lack of productivity. Employees who take to extreme their religious beliefs in the office place are nothing, but a distraction to their co-workers. My experience with company policy is that it leaves far too much room for interpretation; therefore, enforcing the written policy becomes extremely blurred. By enforcing a policy and making everyone adhere to and be accountable for that policy could result in the following ethical implications. First and foremost and employee may feel their first amendment rights are being compromised.

The environment in the workplace may also take on a more somber tone and that may possibly jeopardize productivity. However, in many instances it may make many employees feel less vulnerable to others unsolicited opinions, beliefs, and actions. A company is always going to have productivity and profitability as their primary concerns. How their employees adapt to company policy can strongly affect both of those concerns. If a policy is adhere to by the employee and enforced by the company there is little room for argument. Company policy gets overshadowed by employees's trug gle to try to maintain some type of individuality in the workplace, making it extremely difficult for a company to enforce their policies across the board due to ethical differences.

With the ever-present threat of being sued the ground rules are always having to adapt to each individual circumstance. This makes policy validity questionable, leaving far too much room for individual ethical interpretation to interfere with co-worker relations.

Bibliography

Browne, Neil, and Stuart M. Keeley. Critical Thinking: Asking The Right Questions. New Jersey: Pearson Custom Publishing, 2000.
McCall, Morgan, and Robert E. Kaplan. Whatever It Takes: The Realities of Managerial Decision Making. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1990.