Workers don't trust boss


INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- A new study shows fewer than half of employees surveyed believe their employers are people of high ethical integrity.

The study -- Workforce 2020 -- released Tuesday by Walker Information and the Hudson Institute found the industries with the highest integrity factors were financial services, technology and insurance while those with the lowest ratings were transportation, government and public administration, and the manufacturing sectors.

``Many businesses spend their time and money analyzing how they can maximize their employees' productivity but they overlook one key component of the employee-employer relationship -- integrity,'' said Jeffrey Marr, vice president of business innovation at Walker. Study co-author Richard Judy of the Hudson Institute said the results indicate ``businesses need to focus their efforts on building integrity within the organization so that employees believe that senior leaders are willing to listen to their concerns and will take the appropriate actions to rectify problem situations.''   The survey found 30 percent of employees know or suspect their employers are guilty of such ethical violations as falsifying records, unfair treatment of employees and lying to supervisors. Sixty percent said they have not reported the unethical behavior because they feared it would not be kept confidential and they would be subject to retaliation.

The survey queried more than 2,000 employees in 48 states last spring. Results were weighted by industry based on U.S. labor statistics.

The study also found that employees in the wholesale trade, financial services, utility and not-for-profit industries are more likely to want to remain with their current employers than others. Those least likely to want to stay where they're at are in the transportation, business services, retail trade and technology industries.
The problem, Judy said, is that people do not feel they are valued by their employers.

``Business organizations need to take a genuine interest in their employees    and encourage better communication between employees and management,''  he said.

The survey found fully a third of employees are categorized as high- risk -- those who do not plan to stay with an organization for at least two years.

Walker Information is a business research firm and the Hudson Institute is a public policy research organization. Both are based in Indianapolis.