Ethics Induced Stress in the Local Government Workplace

Abstract

This paper seeks to contribute to a small but growing body of empirical based knowledge of government ethics. The study objectives are (1) to document the extent to which ethics induced stress exists in public organizations, (2) to examine a set of variables that, separately and collectively, may foster or mitigate ethics induced stress in the public workplace, and (3) to offer suggestions, if not guidance about future research in this largely unchartered area. The study population consists of employees of a medium size city and a large urban county. The findings suggest that ethics induced stress, although not severe, is commonplace. Additionally, the results of this study indicate that there is a strong relationship between the emphasis placed on organizational values such as excellence and teamwork and lower levels of ethics stress in the workplace.