Any time you ask yourself what the ethical choice is, you're dealing with ethical issues. HR actions require not only treating people ethically but also tackling ethical problems such as harassment and discrimination. Ethical issues in human resource management (HRM) can be tricky to manage. It takes sound judgment – not just sticking to law requirements.
HRM must follow the law and company rules, but dealing with ethics requires more. If a workplace bully carefully stays within the law, that doesn't make the behavior acceptable. Dealing with the employee then becomes an ethical matter.
Ethical issues in HRM crop up whenever you have to ask, "what's the right thing to do?" advises the Human Resource Executive website. Laws and regulations offer definitive, clear guidance that you do it this way or never do it that way. When the rules are silent or unclear, you may have to make an ethical choice. Ethics are also important if you're ever pressured to break the rules.
Knowing the rules is a necessary starting point, Cornerstone explains. Suppose you're dealing with a sexual harassment complaint. You have to know whether the behavior conflicts with harassment law or company policy, how to gather information, and how to respect the rights of both parties. If the company handbook says to keep everything confidential until the case is resolved, that's what you must do.
Another ethical issue in human resource management occurs when the rules aren't working. For example, a company may say it values diversity, but its hiring practices discriminate against women or people of color. That's an ethical problem; proposing changes to the hiring process may be necessary to fix it.
Many ethical issues in HRM arise from people behaving unethically. Discrimination is a classic example. If your company is covered by federal law, discrimination based on gender, race, age, disability or religion, among other factors, is illegal. It's also unethical. Steven Mintz, writing at the Workplace Ethics Advice website, describes discrimination as the core of most ethical issues in human resource management.
Even if your company stays within the law, it may not be acting ethically. Suppose you run a company with a half-dozen employees. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says your company is small enough that you're exempt from most anti-discrimination laws. If you want to discriminate based on race or disability, you can do so legally – but you're not acting ethically.
The world doesn't stand still, which means that ethical issues in human resource management aren't static. Go back 25 years, and business owners didn't worry about what employees said on social media. Now setting a social media policy is a necessity. Is it ethical to punish employees for their personal posts? What about an offensive tweet from when they were in high school? What if they talk smack about the company? You may have to make decisions, even though the ethical guidelines are still under debate.
The increasing use of algorithms to make business decisions poses added ethical issues, HR strategist Josh Bersin warns. Some companies use AI to predict which employees are most likely to stick around. If the chance of retention is low, some managers stop giving the employee any support or mentoring – why bother if they're leaving? Using tech this way poses both practical and ethical issues.
Human resource professionals often find themselves balancing the interests of employees and employers while also striving to comply with federal, state and local laws. In some cases, an ethical misconduct definition is clear cut. In others, a human resources manager or director will have to rely on his or her professional experience and ethics to determine a proper course of action. When training human resources employees about ethical misconduct, it is often best to explain with suitable examples of the unethical issues involved in HRM and IT.
HR workers may be asked to overlook violations of workplace rules or labor laws. Legal compliance, however, is essential to the long-term interests of a business, even if it means embarrassment or losing a valuable employee in the short term.
Susan, an HR director, is approached by Dave, a sales manager. Dave is hiring for a position on his team, and he asks Susan to screen out any resumes with "foreign-sounding" names. Susan explains that it is illegal and unethical to do this.
Dave becomes angry and leaves. Later that day, Dave's boss, Andy, approaches Susan and explains that Dave will quit his position if Susan refuses to comply. Andy asks Susan to go along with Dave's request, noting that Dave is a "good producer" for the company.
Susan refuses and tells Andy that she plans to escalate this situation. Eventually, both the CEO and the board of directors get involved. Both Andy and Dave are let go by the company.
Sometimes, HR professionals become aware of violations while talking with employees. This situation creates an ethical dilemma because the HR worker would like to keep an employee's confidence, but the HR rep also has an obligation to report hazards and wrongdoing.
Some experts advise HR professionals to be cautious about promising confidentiality. Employees should be told that if they report something to HR that violates the law or places other workers in danger, HR must report what the employee has said.
Matt is an HR director for a large restaurant chain. During a site visit, a clearly upset kitchen worker named Cheryl approaches Matt and explains that she needs to tell him something, but is concerned about her job.
Matt tells her that he is ethically and legally obligated to report some issues to corporate management. However, anything said to him in good faith will be taken seriously. He also tells Cheryl that she has protection under whistle-blower laws.
Cheryl explains that health and safety procedures are not followed in the food storage area and her complaints are ignored by restaurant management. Matt thanks Cheryl for her honesty and files a report. He also arranges for Cheryl to be transferred to another restaurant so that she can avoid having to work in a hostile environment.
HR departments handle a lot of sensitive information, including:
Sloppy handling of this information could expose an employee to identity theft, embarrassment and possible harassment. HR departments need to have strict policies for the storage and handling of employee information. These policies should include:
Greg was recently hired as HR manager for a small business. On his first day at work, he notices right away that HR files are stored in an unlocked file cabinet in an easily accessed area. Electronic records are protected only by a password that everyone in the department knows.
After Greg brings up his concerns, the company's CEO authorizes the purchase of more secure file cabinets and allows Greg to place them in a locked office. Electronic records are then secured through a proprietary service, and permissions for information access are allocated more carefully. References Resources Writer Bio
Kevin Johnston writes for Ameriprise Financial, the Rutgers University MBA Program and Evan Carmichael. He has written about business, marketing, finance, sales and investing for publications such as "The New York Daily News," "Business Age" and "Nation's Business." He is an instructional designer with credits for companies such as ADP, Standard and Poor's and Bank of America. Image Credit
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Employment diversity means people of varying ethnic, racial, age, gender, religion and other demographics work together. Workplaces have become increasingly diverse in the early 21st century, which has caused human resources planning to include emphasis on how to leverage the benefits of a diverse group and overcome challenges that come with such differences.
One of the most concrete responsibilities of human resources is ensuring the organization meets prescribed legal requirements in hiring, evaluation and promotion. Laws including Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Age Discrimination Act help ensure equal rights in most cases for people based on age, race, ethnicity, religion, gender and disability. Offering a fair hiring process based on defined job standards is key when screening candidates. Legal compliance and monitoring of fair standards have become an important role of HR.
HR helps set the tone for a work culture in which managers and employees promote diverse activities. Encouraging managers to set a good example allows them to help motivate or coach others to value differences and respect others. Providing orientations and informal meetings allows employees to build rapport with coworkers of all backgrounds. HR also can champion allowing employees time off to participate in local events that promote culture and diversity, which helps the company gain credibility in the community.
Responsible human resources managers understand the challenges of diversity and proactively provide training and coaching. Training on cultural awareness, the benefits of diversity and conflict resolution can help employees value different perspectives. Additionally, HR must address the reality that coworkers sometimes speak different first languages, have different racial and ethnic heritages and view the world from different paradigms.
HR professionals and organizational leaders are tasked with promoting not just a physically safe workplace, but also an emotionally safe one. This means stepping in when employees have spats related to differences. In some cases, employees may need to be reprimanded or even terminated if they verbally abuse others. These steps normally are outlined in the company's policy manual. In simple conflicts where diverse employees just don't see eye to eye, leaders more often play peacemaker and guide conflict resolution.
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Examples of ethical issues in Human Resource Management
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