When the Bough Breaks...
How societal norms evolve and impact ethical standards
I sometimes wonder what anthropologists will write generations from now about the evolution of societal norms and their impact on ethical standards. It’s easy for us now to look at history and understand that, over time, as Martin Luther King Jr said, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” Historically, we can apply that to issues of suppression, disenfranchisement, and oppression. There is a huge list of examples to cite where social norms evolved to acknowledge and recognize a “new normal” that drove systemic societal change generally for the better. That change in turn redefined ethical standards - in many cases, forever.
Sometimes those changes in norms were incremental and continued to evolve over long periods of time; I think it was those to which Dr. King was referring. Of course, his framework was largely based on and around oppression, specifically racial injustice, and rightfully so. The United States evolved from a society where slavery was commonplace and accepted. The “ethical” treatment of slaves was appalling by today’s standards. The move from the abolishment of slavery, to changes in the acceptance of inter-racial marriage, property ownership rights, voting rights, and equal access to education - just to name a few – continued to evolve ethical standards toward inclusion, fairness and equity. This is eventually reflected in laws regarding discrimination and harassment, and those laws drive the policies which companies must follow.
ETHIX360 lives at the crossroad of law and a company’s ability to affect and monitor employee behavior by adherence to policies. It’s an important societal role, and we carry that responsibility through in the decisions we make about the products we build, the relationships we have with our clients and partners, our relationship with our investors, and how we run our company. We don’t see ourselves as simply a SaaS software company, although we certainly are. We see ourselves as providing a service that acts as a voice for those who have been wronged or witnessed wrongdoing, and a platform for our clients to manage those concerns through resolution consistently and without bias. We’re proud that every day over 4 million workers, on 6 continents, in 80+ countries, speaking 67 languages, all look to CaseTrac from ETHIX360 to give them a safe and secure platform to raise concerns, improve employee communications, and support the ability to report anonymously.
We’ve reacted with changes in our system as society evolved around #metoo, GDPR, and SOX404. The #metoo movement represented social evolution towards a firmer resistance to sexual harassment, GDPR to societal concerns around data privacy, and SOX404 to financial fraud. All of those changes were reflected in changes to laws, and new laws and regulations that drove changes in companies’ policies and workplace standards, which changed communication and enforcement. Arguably, for the better.
So, back to my premise: what will anthropologists write generations from now? Did social norms devolve around issues resulting in regressive ethical standards and returns to ethical norms of the past when acceptance and enforcement were different? Will they write that societal norms evolved or devolved? Will they write that the world became a safer, more equitable place? Or that past prejudices and inequities returned as the norms? Will the arc of the moral universe continue to bend towards justice?
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MEET THE AUTHOR
J Rollins is the co-founder and CEO of ETHIX360. J is a well known leader and innovator who has served on senior leadership teams ranging in responsibility from Chief Revenue Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, SVP of Product Strategy and Chief Operating Officer.
ABOUT ETHIX360
At ETHIX360, our goal is simple: to provide an affordable, flexible, and comprehensive answer to employee communication, policy management, corporate training and case management on issues related to corporate ethics, code of conduct, fraud, bribery, and workplace violence.
