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Want great business ethics? Get a life!
By Lauren | November 2, 2009
Clients are frequently surprised when I tell them that one of the best ways to insure that they’ll make good ethical decisions in business is to have a life outside of work. After all, they’re professionals, right? Isn’t their job to continually do more with less, spend longer and longer hours on the job, and put their careers first no matter what?
Not at all.
There are at least two good reasons why your business ethics may depend on how much you value your life outside the office. First, family, friends, significant others and even your kids frequently don’t understand quite what you do. That can be an ethical lifesaver, because it means they’ll be more likely to challenge you if something you’re doing at work becomes ethically questionable. There’s nothing like explaining to someone you love why a particular course of action really isn’t as sleazy as it looks to help you recognize that, unfortunately, it really is.
Second, there’s nothing like having a life outside of work to help you maintain perspective. Yes, your career is important, but so are the hours you spend away from your company. (You’ve probably heard this before, but take a moment to really think about it … how many people lie on their deathbeds wishing they’d spent more time in the office?) If all you ever do is work, you risk becoming so obsessed with work that every minor problem starts to look like a catastrophe in the making. And, once you start catastrophizing, you run the risk of cutting ethical corners because the risks of playing it straight start looming too large.
So, when it’s quitting time tonight, go home. Hug your loved ones, pet the dog, go for a walk, and take a deep breath. You’ll make better, more ethical decisions at work because of it.
Topics: Business Ethics, Personal Ethics, Professional Ethics, ethics |
December 17th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
[...] presents Want great business ethics? Get a life! posted at The Business Ethics Blog, saying, “Having a life outside work directly informs your [...]