'Devious' bosses set bad example

Is your boss up to something?

Devious managers are setting a bad example to their employees, a report has said.

Most workers believe they are more honest than their managers, according to the poll of 600 UK employees.

But more than half cited unscrupulous behaviour by bosses as a justifiable excuse for workplace dishonesty.

And most suspected it was easier to behave dishonestly at the top of an organisation than at the bottom.

'Communication breakdown'

One in 10 admitted to taking the odd sick day, but a quarter said their manager took days off work without a proper excuse.

The extent to which people suspect their managers of dastardly deeds is worrying and points to a breakdown in communication

Derek Kemp, Liquid HR

About 6% of those surveyed owned up to exaggerating their expenses, but a quarter suspected their manager of fiddling claims.

Lack of clarity about rules and policy was cited as a mitigating factor for dishonesty by 45% of respondents.

Derek Kemp, chairman of Liquid HR, which commissioned the survey, said: "Workers come out of this survey relatively unscathed as far as dishonesty is concerned.

"The extent to which people suspect their managers of dastardly deeds is worrying and points to a breakdown in communication."

Young 'more dishonest'

Smaller firms, in particular, were identified as "breeding grounds" for dishonest behaviour.

The more valued an employee feels the less likely they are to cheat their employer, the survey found.

Employees aged between 45 and 54 are the least likely to engage in dishonest behaviour.

The most likely to be dishonest, the survey found, are those aged between 18 and 24.

Simon Webley, from the Institute of Business Ethics, said the report highlighted the need for firms to have an ethical policy that applied to all staff.