HR policies regarding workplace behavior Term Paper

HR policies regarding workplace behavior - Term Paper Example As a rule, workplace ethics are often regarded as an integral part of the workplace behavior, therefore, all the aspects of the HR policies should be reviewed from the perspective of the overall atmosphere improvement in the company, as well as the overall performance efficiency growth. Workplace Behavior and Ethics As it is stated in the research by Covey (2000), the conflict causing behavior is rather contagious, since the entire personnel may become contaminated with the improper behavior. This incurs additional (and often, hidden) costs for the company, while the destructive behavior, such as rudeness, gossiping, incessant complaining, ignoring etc., causes losses in productivity and efficiency. In accordance with the research by Lord et.al. (2002), it should be emphasized that behavior and ethics are the essential aspects of employment, since both assist in the company’s attempts to improve the profitability. This is explained by the statement that all the employees have different moral values, ethical backgrounds, behavioral norms etc, while the key employer’s task is to harmonize the cooperation of these people by setting rules and regulations that are intended to adjust certain compromises. In general, every company has a specific set of rules that are not associated with the general working procedures directly. These rules are intended to specify which behavior is acceptable, and which is not, and are mainly associated with harassment, language, smoking and eating at working place, as well as working attire. Some of these rules are stipulated by the domestic legislation, while the others originate from the corporate traditions and HR experience. As for the smoking regulations, it should be emphasized that these rules are intended to maximize comfort for all the employees and customers of the company, as well as for improving the fire safety measures. In this case, a compromise is set between a company and all the employees who smoke, sinc e the company agrees to allocate a specific area for smoking, or implement control systems (in case of non-smoking policy), while smokers agree not to smoke in the areas where smoking is forbidden. Ethical behavior, generally, involves various aspects: Integrity. As a rule, this aspect is mainly required for the positions with high financial or any other material responsibility; however, most companies encourage integrity for the entire personnel. In accordance with the research by Estlund (2003), high integrity promotes the absence of gossips and sneakiness among employees. Accountability. In fact, it is often included into the list of unspoken requirements for any worker, since employees are obliged to take responsibility for the particular set of actions. However, most managerial and executive positions have this requirement listed in the job descriptions. Additionally, this involves coming in time, putting honest efforts while performing the job, etc. Teamwork. Actually, this is not an obligatory ethical requirement, nevertheless, employees interact with each other, and hence, this interaction should not be discouraging for the overall organizational performance. This means that personal dislike should be set aside, as the team will have to concentrate on reaching the corporate goal. Commitment. Similarly to previous aspects, this one is not regarded as an