Once employees see other employees skirting the rules without any consequences, they often start to believe that it is okay for them to do the same. Additionally, an employee who wants to do the right thing may increasingly feel pressured not to speak up about unethical behavior out of fear.
According to a 2013 study done by the Ethics Resource Center, 41 percent of U.S. workers reported that they had observed unethical or illegal misconduct while on the job. While not all of these incidents were likely major, small ethical lapses tend to grow into major missteps for companies.
