WASHINGTON - Anyone who thinks Washington is an ethical quagmire should talk to a cross-section of government employees, who say the problem is worse at the state and local levels.
Overall, three out of five government workers acknowledged having witnessed violations of ethical standards, policy, or law over the past year, according to a survey released yesterday by the Ethics Resource Center. The Washington-based nonprofit research group has studied organizational ethics trends for several decades.
At the local level, 63 percent of government employees reported observing at least one type of misconduct, ranging from abusive behavior by superiors to bribery. At the state level, the comparable figure was 57 percent; at the federal level, 52 percent.
The trend lines in government point toward more misconduct in the future, not less, said Patricia Harned, the center's president.
The center said 30 percent of the incidents went unreported and there are too few systems in place for combating misconduct when it is exposed.
One reason for the low reporting figure was that 17 percent of employees who did report misconduct said they experienced retaliation. One in four government workers said they believed that leaders tolerate retaliation.
The state of ethics in the public and private sectors appeared to be roughly comparable. For example, the study said 8 percent of those surveyed reported witnessing alteration of documents; a similar survey among private sector workers showed 5 percent of business employees had witnessed such misconduct.
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The center said the proven solution is a strong ethical culture.
When employees believe that leaders can be trusted and when supervisors set a good example of ethical behavior, misconduct is reduced by 52 percent and retaliation is lower, the survey found.
Fewer than one in five government workplaces have well-implemented ethics and compliance programs, however.
The findings were based on polling 774 government employees, 1,929 business employees, and 558 nonprofit employees.
