Building an Ethical Company by Isaac H. Smith and Maryam Kouchaki Harvard Business Review People don’t enter the workforce with a fixed moral character. Just as employees can nurture (or neglect) their skills and abilities over time, they can learn to be more or less ethical. Yet rather than take a long-term view of employees’ moral development, many organizations treat ethics training as a onetime event, often limiting it to the onboarding process. If they do address ethics thereafter, it may be only by espousing codes of conduct or establishing whistleblower hotlines. Such steps may curb specific unethical actions, but they don’t necessarily help employees develop as moral people. Ethical learning is a lifelong process, and it doesn’t happen by rote (do this, don’t do that). Neuroscientific research suggests that when faced with moral quandaries, we fall back on prototypes, or mental models. Our moral evolution requires us to add to and update those prototypes as we gain experience. So in addition to preparing people for onetime moral challenges, employers should foster an environment that encourages them to become more ethical in the long run by practicing moral reflection. The benefits of ethical organizations are well documented: Such organizations are more attractive than others to employees, are less likely to become embroiled in scandals, and are more likely to be rewarded by investors, who increasingly focus on good governance and strong cultures as sources of sustainable value creation. In a previous article, “Building an Ethical Career” (HBR, January–February 2020), we wrote about a bottom-up approach to ethics, describing how individuals could take ownership of their moral development at work. In this article we draw on evidence from hundreds of research studies in business, psychology, and ethics to present a top-down approach to helping workers build moral character. Together the two approaches highlight the workplace’s potential to be a moral laboratory where people can find the opportunities and support to learn and grow. Recognize the Role of Work in Our Lives Some Protestant theologians hold that work is inherently edifying. We would not go that far, but we do agree with the idea that work is an effective place for ethical learning, for several reasons. First, work plays a huge role in many people’s lives. Houses of worship, therapists’ offices, and conversations with close friends and family are traditionally where moral learning occurs. We’re not suggesting that those settings are no longer relevant or important. But a typical full-time employee spends far more time at work than in a mosque, church, or counselor’s office. Indeed, many of us spend the majority of our waking hours there. How could work not affect our moral thinking and actions? Second, work and life are more tightly intertwined than ever before (a trend exacerbated by the pandemic). The boundaries between our personal and professional lives have become blurred. That has happened not only because we spend so much time at work but also because of a push, especially among Millennials and younger workers, for greater authenticity—a desire to “bring one’s whole self to work.” Activism on the job is on the rise, with employees banding together at companies including Facebook and Google to encourage leaders to address issues such as diversity, immigration, and political discourse. Ethical learning doesn’t happen by rote. Employers should foster an environment that encourages workers to become more ethical by practicing moral reflection. Third, we are likely to face ethical situations at work that we might not encounter anywhere else. Will we bribe a government official to secure a lucrative contract? Will we pad our expense account or “cook the books?” Will we speak up if we witness a boss bullying or harassing a subordinate? And more recently, should we enforce mask wearing? Can our employees work from home? At our jobs we have regulations to follow, customers to serve, contracts to uphold, and communities to engage with. Experience with each can foster ethical learning over time. Focus on Serving Others Building a truly ethical culture involves more than just helping people to avoid doing bad things; it also requires empowering them to do good things. Research has shown that serving other people can reduce self-focus and raise awareness of moral concerns. It also contributes to psychological flourishing; studies have demonstrated a link between volunteer service and improved mood and well-being. Universities often provide students with service-learning opportunities, such as consulting projects with nonprofit organizations, to help them gain practical skills while making a positive difference in the world and, it is hoped, becoming committed to service along the way. Research finds that such programs have a spillover effect on moral character. In one study undergraduate students who participated in a summer service-learning project outperformed their peers on a moral-reasoning assessment. HTTPS://HBR.ORG/2021/11/BUILDING-AN-ETHICAL-COMPANY