DUBAI – Some 68% of professionals in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region feel their company is very transparent about its values, according to a survey. While, 55% of MENA employees have been asked to do things that clash with their personal values, 92% believe a company with top ethics and integrity is very important, found the survey conducted by Bayt.com's ‘Values, Ethics and Integrity in the MENA Workplace.' For 98% of respondents, working for a company that has top ethics and integrity is important – ‘very important' to 92.3%. Roughly three quarters (74.2%) consider the company they work for to have a high level of ethics and integrity, to ‘a large extent' for 45.8% of respondents. Six in 10 state that their company has a written code of ethics, which 67.8% claim is fleshed out and well-communicated in a transparent manner. Ethics training is required at 68% of respondents' companies, with 78.8% claiming that ethical criteria are included in the employee appraisal system. On the other hand, 17.2% say that their company is not at all transparent about its values, with a further 15% stating that the level of transparency is low. Top managers set a good example of ethical conduct, according to 68% of respondents, though only 47.7% consider, to a large extent, that their direct manager is someone with a high level of ethics and integrity. A quarter (23.3%) state that their direct manager may not be someone they see as having a high level of ethics and integrity. This is perhaps reflected in the fact that 54.6% of respondents have been asked to do something at work at some point in their careers that has clashed with their personal values. For 18.4% of those respondents it is a frequent occurrence, while it happens ‘sometimes' for the remaining 36.2%. Two thirds (66%) claim that their companies do have procedures for reporting unethical behavior, for which individuals are punished at 72.1% of respondents' organizations. According to 51.5% of respondents, it is possible to succeed professionally without compromising their personal morals and values, though they are opposed by 29.8% who believe the opposite is true. A fifth (18.7%) believe that it is only possible to exceed ‘to some extent' without breaching personal ethics. Suhail Al-Masri, VP of Sales, Bayt.com said: “Transparency and a just and ethical approach to work is very important in the MENA region's workplace. Creating an environment that encourages ethical practices and upholds strong values is imperative in attracting top talent, who seek work at organizations that are in line with their own ethical values and moral drivers. With this in mind, companies across the MENA are increasingly working towards adopting more policies that actively nurture an ethical, integrity-driven workplace – one in which transparency and respect for values is vital.” – SG
