Description
Touchstones are projects that illustrate your comprehension of the course material, help you refine skills, and demonstrate application of knowledge. You can work on a Touchstone anytime, but you must pass this unit’s assessments before you submit it. Once you’ve submitted a Touchstone, it will be graded and counted toward your final course score.
Touchstone 2: Review a Code of Ethics
OVERVIEW: In this assignment, you will review a code of ethics of a well-known company or organization and answer questions about the strengths and potential weaknesses of the code.
In order to foster learning and growth, all essays you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any plagiarized or recycled work will result in a Plagiarism Detected alert. Review this tutorial for more about plagiarism and the Plagiarism Detected alert: Touchstones: Academic Integrity Guidelines. For guidance on the use of generative AI technology, review Ethical Standards and Appropriate Use of AI.
A. Directions
STEP 1: CHOOSE CODE OF ETHICS
Select ONE code of ethics from the list provided. You may not use a code of ethics not on this list. Note: Some of these require following additional links within the page to read the complete document. You should follow all links and read the complete contents of the code of ethics you select.
3M https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/ethics-compliance/code/
Berkshire Hathaway https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/govern/ethics.pdf
Starbucks https://livingourvalues.starbucks.com/
Society for Human Resource Management https://www.shrm.org/about-shrm/pages/code-of-ethics.aspx
American Society of Association Executives https://www.asaecenter.org/about-us/policies/code-of-conduct
STEP 2: EVALUATE CODE OF ETHICS
Answer the following questions, applying the vocabulary and concepts from the tutorials.
1. Name the company or organization whose code of ethics you have chosen.
2. Review the code of ethics you’ve chosen and find the part of the code that addresses each topic below. Write 1–2 sentences paraphrasing the company policy on each topic. (See Employee Conduct Code.)
Basic conduct
Confidentiality
Competition
Giving and receiving gifts
Insider trading
Social media usage
Disparagement
For example, in the American Red Cross code of ethics, they state, “Any single gift or entertainment accepted must have a nominal value no greater than $75 and meet all of the guidelines in our Business Gifts and Entertainment Policy.” This would relate most closely to “giving and receiving gifts.” In the space provided in the template, you could write, “Employees may not receive gifts that are worth more than $75.”
If you cannot find a particular policy after carefully searching through the entire document or website, you may instead write a sentence or two about why this particular business has chosen not to include a policy in their code of ethics. For example, the lack of a social media policy may be intentional or may be an oversight. Which do you think it is, in this case? What potential problems might occur because the company has not included this concern in their code of ethics?
3. After reviewing the code of ethics (especially the sections listed in question #2), write a paragraph (5–7 sentences) describing whether the code describes an ethical minimum (legal compliance) or a higher ethical standard. Support your answers with specific examples from the code. (See Working Conditions.) For example, the American Red Cross code of ethics states “nondiscrimination.” In this case, it would be a legal duty of the organization not to discriminate because of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, so this is an ethical minimum.
4. After reviewing the code of ethics (especially the sections listed in question #2), write a paragraph (5–7 sentences) describing what kind of culture the company seems to have based on the competing values framework (adhocracy, clan, market, hierarchy). Support your answers with specific examples from the code of ethics. (See What is Business Culture?.) For example, the American Red Cross code of ethics asks employees to “…embrace the rich diversity around us and strive to be inclusive….” This relates most closely with clan culture in the CVF.
5. After reviewing the code of ethics (especially the sections listed in question #2), write a paragraph (5–7 sentences) describing what ethical theory they seem to follow. (See Origin of Ethics and Modern Ethical Theories.) Support your answer with specific examples from the code of ethics. For example, in the American Red Cross code of ethics, the element of “harassment-free workplace” relates most closely with virtue ethics because the reasoning behind the policy is to help people flourish.
6. Based on this organization’s code of ethics, write 2–3 sentences in response to each question.
Do you feel they are reasonable and employee-centered?
Do any of the policies give you concern?
Would you want to work here?
What additional information would you find useful before making a decision to work here or not?
Unformatted Attachment Preview
Business Ethics Touchstone 2 Template
Name:
Date:
Step 1. Select ONE code of ethics from the list provided.
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3M https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/ethics-compliance/code/
Berkshire Hathaway https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/govern/ethics.pdf
Starbucks https://livingourvalues.starbucks.com/en-us/
SHRM https://www.shrm.org/about-shrm/pages/code-of-ethics.aspx
ASAE https://www.asaecenter.org/about-us/policies/code-of-conduct
Step 2. Answer the following questions, applying the vocabulary and concepts from the tutorials.
1. Give the name of the company or organization you have chosen from the list above.
2. Find each of the following topics in the code of ethics you have chosen. Write 1-2
sentences paraphrasing or summarizing the company policy on each topic. If you
cannot find a policy on the topic, indicate why you think they company did not provide a
policy and what potential problems might occur because they do not have a policy.
Basic conduct
Confidentiality
Competition
Giving and receiving gifts
Insider trading
Social media usage
Disparagement
3. Based on the evidence seen in part 2, write a 5-7 sentence paragraph describing
whether the company’s ethical code describes an ethical minimum (legal compliance) or
a higher ethical standard. Support your answers with specific examples from the code
of ethics.
4. Based on the evidence seen in part 2, write a 5-7 sentence paragraph describing what
kind of culture the company seems to have based on the competing values framework
(adhocracy, clan, market, hierarchy). Write 5-7 sentences supporting your answer with
specific examples from the code of ethics.
5. Based on the evidence seen in part 2, write a 5-7 sentence paragraph describing what
ethical theory they seem to follow (virtue ethics, utilitarianism, or deontology). Support
your answer with specific examples from the code of ethics.
6. Based on this organization’s code of ethics, write 2-3 sentences in response to each
question.
Do you feel they are
reasonable and employeecentered?
Do any of the policies give
you concern?
Would you want to work
here? Why or why not?
What additional information
would you find useful
before making a decision
to work here or not?
Step 3. Refer to the checklist below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your
Touchstone until it meets these guidelines.
❒ Did you select a code of ethics from the ones listed above and read it carefully in its
entirety?
❒ Did you locate each topic in the code of ethics and describe it in your own words?
❒ If any policy is missing, did you explain in your own words why they may not have
included a policy and what problems may occur because of this?
❒ Did you answer all of the subsequent questions using both language from the code of
ethics and the concepts and terms covered in the tutorials?
❒ Did you meet the length requirements for each question?
❒ Did you review the rubric and compare your assignment with the rubric to ensure all
elements have been addressed?
❒ Did you read through your assignment to ensure no grammar errors exist? Did you use
spell check?
Financial Integrity
by Sophia
WHAT’S COVERED
In this lesson, you will learn about the added ethical responsibilities related to finance. Specifically,
this lesson will cover:
1. Insider Trading
Employees may face ethical dilemmas in the area of finance, especially in situations such as bribery and
insider trading in securities. Such dubious “profit opportunities” can offer the chance of realizing thousands or
even millions of dollars, creating serious temptation for an employee. However, insider trading and bribery are
serious violations of the law that can result in incarceration and large fines.
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Insider trading is buying or selling of stocks, bonds, or other investments based on nonpublic information that
is likely to affect the price of the security being traded. For example, someone who is privy to information that
a company is about to be taken over, which will cause its stock price to rise when the information becomes
public, may buy the stock before it goes up in order to sell it later for an enhanced profit. Likewise, someone
with inside information about a coming drop in share price may sell all his or her holdings at the current price
before the information is announced, avoiding the loss other shareholders will suffer when the price falls.
Although insider trading can be difficult to prove, it is essentially cheating. It is illegal, unethical, and unfair, and
it often injures other investors, as well as undermining public confidence in the stock market.
Insider trading laws are somewhat complex. They have developed through federal court interpretations of
Section 10(b)5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as well as through actions by the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC). The laws identify several kinds of violations. These include trading by an insider
(generally someone who performs work for the company) who possesses significant confidential information
relevant to the valuation of the company’s stock, and trading by someone outside of the company who is
given this sort of information by an insider or who obtains it inappropriately. Even being the messenger (the
one communicating material nonpublic information to others on behalf of someone else) can be a legal
violation.
HINT
Although many companies encourage employees to purchase shares or include them in compensation,
many will have windows of time where any buying or selling of company stock is forbidden, due to
impending news that may be known within the company but not public.
The concept of an “insider” is broad and includes officers, directors, and employees of a company issuing
stocks or bonds. A person can even constitute what is called a “temporary insider” if they temporarily assume
a unique confidential relationship with a firm and acquire confidential information centered on the firm’s
financial and operational affairs. Temporary insiders can be investment bankers, brokers, attorneys,
accountants, or other professionals typically thought of as outsiders, such as newspaper and television
reporters.
A famous case of insider trading, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Texas Gulf Sulphur Co.(1968),
began with the discovery of the Kidd Mine in Ontario and implicated the employees of a Texas mining
company. When first notified of the discovery of a large and very valuable copper deposit, mine employees
bought stock in the company while keeping the information secret. When the information was released to the
public, the price of the stock went up and the employees sold their stock, making a significant amount of
money. The SEC and the Department of Justice prosecuted the employees for insider trading and won a
conviction; the employees had to give back all the money they had made on their trades.
But simply trying to avoid a financial loss can also be unethical and illegal. In 2017, from mid-May to July,
hackers gained unauthorized access to servers used by Equifax, a major credit reporting agency, and
accessed the personal information of nearly one-half the U.S. population. Equifax executives sold off nearly $2
million in company stock they owned after finding out about the hack in late July, weeks before it was publicly
announced on September 7, 2017, in violation of insider trading rules. Equifax executives knew about the
breach and sold shares prior to the dip using this information that was not yet public. As expected, the
company’s shares fell nearly 14% after the announcement. To make amends to customers and clients in the
aftermath of the hack, the company offered free credit monitoring and identity theft protection. On September
15, 2017, the company’s chief information officer and chief of security retired. On September 26, 2017, the CEO
resigned, days before he was to testify before Congress about the breach. To date, numerous government
investigations and hundreds of private lawsuits have been filed as a result of the hack. A few former
executives were later sentenced to federal prison for violating insider trading rules.
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⚙
THINK ABOUT IT
Imagine a longtime staff person in a low-level position is relying on the stock they have accrued to fund
their retirement. They discover by accident that due to the failure of a new product, the earnings report
about to be released will cause the stock to plunge. The staff person considers selling off all of his stock
and reinvesting it elsewhere. Is this practice ethical? Why or why not?
TERM TO KNOW
Insider Trading
The illegal practice of trading stock with knowledge that is not yet public.
2. Bribery
Another temptation that may present itself to employees is the offer of a bribe. Abribe is a payment in some
material form (cash or noncash) for an act that runs counter to the legal or ethical culture of the work
environment. Bribery constitutes a violation of the law in all fifty U.S. states, as well as of a federal law that
prohibits bribery in international transactions, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Bribery generally injures not
only individuals but also competitors, the government, and the free-market system as a whole. Of course,
often the bribe is somewhat less obvious than an envelope full of money. It is important, therefore, to
understand what constitutes a bribe.
Numerous factors help establish the ethics (and legality) of gift giving and receiving: the value of the gift, its
purpose, the circumstances under which it is given, the position of the person receiving it, company policy,
and the law. Assuming an employee has decision-making authority, the company wants and has the right to
expect him or her to make choices in its best interest, not the employee’s own self-interest. For example,
assume an employee has the authority to buy a copy machine for the company. The employer wants to get
the best copy machine for the best price, taking into account quality, service, warranties, and other factors.
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But what if the employee accepts a valuable gift card from a vendor who sells a copy machine with higher
operating and maintenance charges, and then places the order with that vendor? This is clearly not in the best
interests of the employer. It constitutes a failure on the part of the employee to follow ethical and legal rules,
and in all likelihood, company policy as well. If a company wants its employees to always do the right thing, it
must have policies and procedures that ensure the employees know what the rules are and the
consequences for breaking them.
A gift may be only a well-intentioned token of appreciation, but the potential for violating company rules (and
the law) is still present. A well-written and effectively communicated gift policy provides guidance to company
employees about what is and is not appropriate to accept from a customer or vendor and when. This policy
should clearly state whether employees are allowed to accept gifts on or outside the work premises and who
may give or accept them. If gifts are allowed, the gift policy should define the acceptable value and type, and
the circumstances under which an employee may accept a gift.
⚙
THINK ABOUT IT
You are tasked with purchasing a large number of new computers for the office. When talking to the
salesperson, he suggests that he will “throw in” a high-end laptop for your personal use. In truth, you had
already decided to go with this company, so the freebie is not influencing your decision. What do you do?
When in doubt about whether the size or value of a gift renders it impossible for an employee to accept it,
workers should check with the appropriate officer or department within their company. Be it an “ethics
hotline” or simply the human resources department, wise firms provide an easy protocol for employees to
follow in determining what falls within and without the protocols for accepting gifts.
EXAMPLE A federal employee may not give or solicit a contribution for a gift to an official superior
and may not accept a gift from an employee receiving less pay if that employee is a subordinate. On
annual occasions when gifts are traditionally given, such as birthdays and holidays, an employee may
give a superior a gift valued at less than $10. An employee may not solicit or accept a gift given
because of his or her official position, or from a prohibited source, including anyone who has or seeks
official action or business with the agency. In special circumstances such as holidays, and unless the
frequency of the gifts would appear to be improper, an employee generally may accept gifts of less
than $20. Gifts of entertainment, such as expensive restaurant meals, are also restricted. Finally, gifts
must be reported when their total value from one source exceeds $390 in a calendar year. Most
companies in the private sector follow similar rules with maximum limits for both individual gifts and
cumulative gifts.
Bribery presents a particular ethical challenge for employees in the international business arenas. Although
every company wants to land lucrative contracts around the world, most expect their employees to follow
both the law and company policy when attempting to consummate such deals. The U.S. law prohibiting
bribery in international business dealings is the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which makes it illegal
for companies and their managers to influence or bribe foreign officials with monetary payments or rewards of
any kind in an attempt to get or keep business opportunities outside the United States. Anti-bribery law is a
serious issue for companies with overseas business and cross-border sales. Any companies or individuals
convicted of these activities may pay significant fines, and individuals can face prison time.
Illegal payments need not be cash; they can include anything of value such as gifts and trips. For example,
BHP Billiton, a U.S. energy company, and GlaxoSmithKline, a U.K. pharmaceutical company, were each fined
$25 million for buying foreign officials tickets to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. Fines for
violations like these can be large and can include civil penalties as well as forfeited profits. For example, Telia,
a Swedish telecommunications provider whose shares are traded on Nasdaq, recently agreed to pay nearly a
billion dollars ($965 million) in a settlement to resolve FCPA violations that consisted of using bribery to win
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business in Uzbekistan.
Companies and employees engaging in transactions in foreign markets thus face an increased level of
regulatory scrutiny and are well served if they put ethics policies in place and enforce them. Companies must
train employees at all levels to follow compliance guidelines and rules, rather than engaging in illegal conduct
such as “under the table” and “off the books” payments. Even the illusion of corrupt practices can bring
serious consequences.
TERMS TO KNOW
Bribe
A payment in some material form (cash or noncash) for an act that runs counter to the legal or ethical
culture of the work environment. Bribery constitutes a violation of the law in all fifty U.S. states, as well
as of a federal law that prohibits bribery in international transactions, the Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act.
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
A law forbidding bribery in international business dealings. Bribery may be cash but may also be
extravagant gifts.
3. Financial Integrity
Navigating through the maze of ethics in finance includes some
obvious perils like outright theft and less obvious ones like accepting
gifts or using non-public information for personal gain.
Of course, bribery is just one of many ethical dilemmas an employee might face in the workplace. Not all such
dilemmas are governed by the clear-cut rules generally laid out for illegal acts such as bribery. Employees
may find themselves being asked to do something that is legal but not considered ethical. For example, an
employee might receive confidential proprietary knowledge about another firm that would give his or her firm
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an unfair competitive advantage. Should the employee act on this information?
⚙
THINK ABOUT IT
Assume you are a partner in a successful computer consulting firm bidding for a contract with a large
insurance company. Your chief rival is a firm that has usually offered services and prices similar to yours.
However, from a new employee who used to work for that firm, you learn that it is unveiling a new
competitive price structure and accelerated delivery dates, which will undercut the terms you had been
prepared to offer the insurance company. Assume you have verified that the new employee is not in
violation of any non-compete or non-disclosure agreement, and therefore, the information was not given
to you illegally.
Would you change prices and delivery dates to beat your rival? Or would you inform both your rival and
potential customer of what you have learned? Why?
Most companies say they want all employees to obey the law and make ethical decisions. But employees
typically should not be expected to make ethical decisions based just on gut instinct; they need guidance,
training, and leadership to help them navigate the maze of gray areas that present themselves daily in
business. This guidance can be provided by the company through standard setting and the development of
ethical codes of conduct and policies. Senior managers modeling ethical behavior and so leading by direct
example also provide significant direction.
EXAMPLE The limited TV series Dopesick documents strong-arm sales techniques used by
Purdue Pharma to convince doctors to prescribe the synthetic opiate, OxyContin, as well as the ethical
dilemmas faced by the sales staff who wanted to perform well but could witness the repercussions of
their actions on rural communities. Meanwhile, the company executives put excessive pressure on
sales staff, showing that simply “doing the right thing” isn’t always easy. Because the company set a
tone at the top of unethical behavior, it became easy for people down the chain of command to follow
the example set by the executives (Strong, 2021).
SUMMARY
In this tutorial, you learned about some of the specific legal and ethical duties related to finances. One
serious ethical lapse is insider trading, which is using nonpublic information about your company or a
company you’re associated with to guide decisions about buying or selling stocks. Another sensitive
area is bribery; an ethical person will not offer or accept bribes (money or gifts), but sometimes there
are cultural pressures to do so, and often the lines between goodwill gifts and bribes are blurry. Most
organizations have specific guidelines for the value of gifts that can be given or received. These are
just two of many ethical issues that might arise if you deal with money; having financial integrity will
mean you know what to do in most situations and ask for guidance when you aren’t sure.
Source: THIS TUTORIAL HAS BEEN ADAPTED FROM OPENSTAX “BUSINESS ETHICS”. ACCESS FOR FREE
AT OPENSTAX.ORG/BOOKS/BUSINESS-ETHICS/PAGES/1-INTRODUCTION. LICENSE: CREATIVE
COMMONS ATTRIBUTION 4.0 INTERNATIONAL.
REFERENCES
Strong, D. (2021). Dopesick [TV]. Hulu.
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TERMS TO KNOW
Bribe
A payment in some material form (cash or noncash) for an act that runs counter to the legal or ethical
culture of the work environment. Bribery constitutes a violation of the law in all fifty U.S. states, as well as
of a federal law that prohibits bribery in international transactions, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)
A law forbidding bribery in international business dealings. Bribery may be cash but may also be
extravagant gifts.
Insider Trading
The illegal practice of trading stock with knowledge that is not yet public.
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A Satisfied Workforce
by Sophia
WHAT’S COVERED
In this lesson, you will learn about the efforts employers make beyond compensation to make a work
environment to aid in recruiting and retaining staff. In particular, you will learn about:
1. Perks
While creating a safe work environment where all employees are treated with dignity and respect, some
employers go further, and foster environments where employees can flourish. After all, most people spend at
least one-third and possibly as much as one-half of their waking hours at work. Management, therefore, should
make work a place where people can thrive, that fosters an atmosphere in which they can be engaged and
productive. Workers are happier when they like where they work and when they do not have to worry about
childcare, health insurance, or being able to leave early on occasion to attend a child’s school play, for
example. Workers are often more satisfied, as well as productive, when they feel physically safe and secure
(as well as safe from bullying or harassment). Historically, a good job was reliable and long-lasting, and
employees tended to stay with the same employer for years. There were not many extras other than a secure
job, health insurance, and a pension plan. However, today’s workers have lower expectations of a life-long
job. Health insurance usually comes with both paycheck deductions and out-of-pocket expenses. Pensions
have given way to retirement accounts, which—unlike pensions—do not guarantee to see a person through
their final years as inflation grows, costs escalate, and healthcare needs increase.
Employers have countered by expanding upon traditional benefits to offer more perks, or nonmonetary
benefits. Perks can include benefits to the work environment such as an on-site gym, on-site daycare, free
coffee, or at least the presence of an upscale coffee shop. Perks can also mean efforts to accommodate
people’s schedules with flexible work schedules or more time off. Perks can help people with professional
development through tuition reimbursement, training opportunities, or counseling services.
Basic Perks
Health Insurance
Vacation & Sick Leave
Retirement Investments
Regular Pay Increases
Bonus Perks
Flexible Schedule
On-Site Childcare or Childcare Allowance
On-Site Gym or Reduced Gym Fees
REFLECT
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What perks make a job or work environment most appealing to you?
Employers must decide exactly how to spend the resources they have allocated to labor, and it can be
challenging to make the right decision about what to provide workers. Should managers ask employees what
they want? Benchmark the competition? Follow the founder’s or the board’s recommendations? How does a
company make lifestyle benefits fair and act ethically when there is backlash against family-friendly policies
from people who do not have their own families? Unlike the purchase of raw materials, utilities, and other
budgetary items, which is driven primarily by cost and may present only a few choices, management’s offering
of employee benefits can present dozens of options, with costs ranging from minimal to very high. Work-athome programs may actually cost the company very little, for example, whereas health insurance benefits may
cost significantly more. In many other industrialized countries, the government provides benefits such as
health insurance and retirement plans, so a company does not have to weigh the pros and cons of what to
offer in this area. In the United States, employee benefits become part of a cost-benefit analysis, a process for
determining if an investment is worth more than it costs, especially for small and mid-sized companies. These
can be hard to ascertain for intangibles like a better work environment. Even larger companies today are
debating what benefits to offer.
Another decision is what benefit choices management should allow each employee to make, and which
choices to make for the workforce as a whole. The best managers communicate regularly with their
workforce; as a result, they are more likely to know (and be able to inform top management about) the types
of perks most desired and most likely to attract and keep good workers. In some cases, their decisions may
serve other ethical purposes. For example, subsidizing or completely funding public transportation or carpool
options can help reduce the carbon footprint of the company as a whole, or allowing paid leave to employees
who volunteer at nonprofit organizations can both be a perk to employees and contribute to the community.
Men and women do not always want the same benefits, which presents a challenge for management. For
instance, many women place about twice as much value as many men do on daycare (23%–11%) and on paid
family leave (24%–14%). Also valued more highly generally by women than by men are better health
insurance, work-from-home options, and flexible hours, whereas more men value an on-site gym and free
coffee more than women typically do.
⚙
THINK ABOUT IT
How does this selection of benefits affect efforts towards equity at a company? For example, while only a
few people may have children young enough to require on-site daycare, leaving work to care for children
is one of the biggest reasons women take an extended leave of absence from work.
Age and generation also play a role in the types of perks that employees value. Workers aged 18 to 35 rank
career advancement opportunities (32%) and work-life balance (33%) as most important to them at work.
However, 42% of workers older than 35 say work-life balance is the most important feature. This is likely
because Generation X (born in the years 1965–1980) place a high value on opportunities for work-life balance,
although, like Baby Boomers (born in the years 1946–1964), they also value salary and a solid retirement plan.
On the other hand, Millennials (born in the years 1981–1997) appreciate flexibility: having a choice of benefits,
paid time off, the ability to telecommute, flexible hours, and opportunities for professional development. The
menu of benefits and perks thus depends on several variables, such as what the company can afford, whether
employees value perks over the more direct benefit of higher pay, what the competition offers, what the
industry norm is, and the company’s geographic location.
EXAMPLE Google is constantly searching for ways to improve the health, well-being, and morale
of its “Googlers.” The company is famous for offering unusual perks, like bicycles and electric cars to
get staff around its sprawling California campus. Additional benefits are generous paid parental leave
for new parents, on-site childcare centers at one location, paid leaves of absence to pursue further
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education with tuition covered, and on-site physicians, nurses, and health care. Other perks are
gaming centers, organic gardens, eco-friendly furnishings, a pets-at-work policy, meditation and
mindfulness training, and travel insurance and emergency assistance on personal and work-related
travel. On the death of a Google employee, his or her spouse or domestic partner is compensated with
a check for 50% of the employee’s salary each year for a decade. In addition, all a deceased
employee’s stock options vest immediately for the surviving spouse or domestic partner. Furthermore,
a deceased employee’s children receive $1000 per month until they reach the age of 19, or until the
age of 23 if they are full-time students.
It’s important to note, however, that this is for full-time/permanent Google employees only; the
company (like many) also has a large number of “independent contractors” who do not receive these
benefits.
Besides helping recruit and retain staff and reduce turnover, such perks are simply good business. Happy
employees are more productive and more focused, which enhances their performance and leads to better
customer treatment, fewer sick days, fewer on-the-job accidents, and less stress and burnout. They are more
focused on their work, more creative, better team players, are more likely to help others, and are more likely
to show leadership qualities.
TERMS TO KNOW
Perks
Benefits besides direct compensation, including health insurance and retirement but also nonmonetary benefits like a flexible work schedule and on-site amenities.
Cost-Benefit Analysis
The process a company goes through to determine if the benefits of an investment outweigh the
costs.
2. Managerial Relationships With Staff
How else does an employer go about the process of making workers happy? Research has identified several
pitfalls that managers should avoid if they want to have a good working relationship with their direct reports
and, indeed, all their employees. One is making employees feel like they are just employees. To be happy at
work, employees instead need to feel like they know each other, have friends at work, are valued, and
belong. Another pitfall is remaining aloof or above your employees. Taking an authentic interest in who they
are as people really does matter. When surveys ask employees, “Do you feel like your boss cares about
you?”, too frequently the answer is no. One way to show caring and interest is to recognize when employees
are making progress; another might be to take a personal interest in their lives and families. Asking
employees to share their ideas and implementing these ideas whenever possible is another form of
acknowledgement and recognition. Pause and highlight important milestones people achieve, and ensure that
they feel their contributions are noticed by saying thank you.
REFLECT
If you’ve had a boss you really liked and appreciated, what qualities did they have that made you feel that
way? Conversely, what qualities were missing in the bosses you didn’t like? Perhaps they had higher
ethical standards for employees than they did for themselves, or they did not make you feel like you were
important to the business.
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Good advice to new managers includes making work fun. Allow people to joke around as appropriate so that
when mistakes occur, they can find (workplace appropriate) humor in the situation and move forward without
fixating simply on the downside. Celebrate accomplishments. Camaraderie and the right touch of humor can
build a stronger workplace culture. Encourage exercise and sleep rather than long work hours, because those
two factors improve employees’ health, focus, attention, creativity, energy, and mood. In the long run,
expecting or encouraging people to regularly work long hours because leaving on time looks bad is
counterproductive to the goals of a firm. Accept that employees need to disengage sometimes. People who
feel they are always working because their management team expects they must remain in touch via email or
mobile phone can become tremendously stressed. To combat this, companies should not expect their
workers to be available around the clock, and workers should not feel compelled to be so available. Rather,
employers should allow employees to completely disengage regularly so they can focus on their friends and
families and tend to their own personal priorities. By way of international comparison, according to a recent
article in Fortune, Germany and France have actually gone as far as banning work-related emails from
employers on the weekends, which is a step in the right direction, even if only because disconnecting from
work is now mandated by law.
In addition to offering benefits and perks, managers can foster a healthy workplace by applying good “people
skills” as well. Managers who are respectful, open, transparent, and approachable can achieve two goals
simultaneously: a workforce that is happier and also one that is more productive. Good management requires
constant awareness that each team member is also an individual working to meet both personal and
company goals. Effective managers act on this by regularly meeting with employees to recognize strengths,
identify constructive ways to improve on weaknesses, and help workers realize collective and
