Ethical Concerns Related to Low-Wage Workers - Essay Example

Ethical concern related to low-wage workers Ethical concerns as they relate to low-wage workers are relevant nowadays, since the income gap is increasing in both Europe and America. Ethical dilemmas, which arise when dealing with low-wage workers, are relevant for the society in general and for the businesses in particular, because of humanization of the welfare states. On the other hand, our contemporary life shows that social inequality is meritocratic and people are estimated according to their merits and career success. The present paper will discuss the multifaceted issue of ethical concern related to low-wage workers. First of all, in order to create a background for my essay, I would like to start with a definition of the term 'ethics'. This term is taken from the Greek, and the Greek word 'ethos' means 'character'. Nowadays, ethics can be defined as the set of rules for interpersonal communication, which takes place either on daily basis or at the level of big business. "Making ethical decisions in business is often difficult because business ethics is not simply an extension of an individual's personal ethics or a society's standards of right and wrong" (answers.com, 2005). Just being a righteous person, who fits ethical criteria, might not be enough to handle the problems, which occur in the workplace, such as the treatment of low-wage employees and their career development. It is important to note that many professions have already responded to the demanding business problems - in particular, with the creation of "codes of ethics, statements of corporate goals, sponsor training and educational programs in ethics" (ibid) , the installation of internal jurists who deal with various ethical improprieties, and with creation of special telephone hot lines, which allow employees report anonymously possible ethical violations. A code of ethics contains certain standards of behavior, which are obligatory for the representatives of a certain profession. Moreover, a code of ethics generally provides professionals with information about the obligations towards one another, their customers, employees and the whole society. "A code of ethics is generally developed by a professional society within a particular profession. The higher the degree of professionalism required of society members, the stronger and therefore more enforceable the code" (ibid). The main function of a code of ethics is to guide employees and employers in the most complicated ethical questions, in particular those which are especially unclear. Decisions in such cases can be made more effectively and easily if the code informs about what actions should or should not be taken and about the penalties for morally wrong behavior. Many companies have their own codes of practice, or codes of ethics, which correspond to the mission of the organization and the organizational culture. There are several ethical concerns associated with low-wage workers. The most widespread ethical dilemma, which arises in many organizations is 'utility vs. morality' (Bernstein, 1997). The ideas of utilitarianism, which penetrated the business, have been developed into the utilitarian approach to ethical concerns, which concentrates on "taking the action that will result in the greatest good for the greatest number of people" (poznaklav.com, 2005). For instance, employing low-wage workers, entrepreneur, who follows utilitarian principles, would attempt to determine whether using low-wage employees would bring prosperity to the company. For instance, those business owners, who use low-wage foreign employees in response to price competition, will probably benefit from such decision. On the other hand, using low-wage workers is likely to decrease the wages of the other employees, decreasing at the same time their standards of living and thus, reducing their ability to purchase the goods the company produces. Those company owners, who support the ideas of morality (Blank, 1997) would probably pay living wages to all employees regardless of their activities, as paying extremely low wages is immoral, as it humiliates the person's hard work. To my view, this problem is usually solved according to the values and beliefs of the employer and according to the code of ethics, which differs from company to company. Another ethical concern, related to low-wage workers is the problem of dissimilar attitudes towards 'blue-collar' and 'white-collar' employees, who contribute to the development of the company in different ways. 'Blue-collar' low-wage workers are treated more prejudicially, for instance they can be either fined or fired without any clear reason. To my view, managers simply appreciate the work of 'blue-collar' and 'white-collar' employees in different ways and appreciate mental work, which is considered to be more difficult and more demanding. "Managers work employees to exhaustion by refusing to allow them breaks or docking their pay for the breaks they dared to take, while requiring them to work 8, 10 and even 12 hours a day" (Danziger and Gottschalk, 1995, p. 43) One more important ethical issue is safety of the workplace, the lack of which is usually associated with low-wage workers. The mot dangerous professions are related to poultry, landscaping and small-scale construction. "Many workers experiences cuts, burns and falls, while some suffered from chronic conditions such as respiratory problems due to the chemicals used at the workplace" (ibid, p.45). Employers also fail to provide low-page workers with appropriate training, to give them safety instructions of simply warn them about possible dangers. Moreover, low-wage workers are rarely provided with safety equipment, so the workplace risks increase. "Very often, employers expect the workers to reform their job with old or defective tools and equipment in hazardous situations. Millions of workers, however, do not receive health benefits from their employers, and few sources of affordable coverage exist outside the employer-based system" (ibid). One more important ethical dilemma, faced by many employees is the question whether to employ immigrants, including those, who crossed the boundaries illegally. On the one hand, they are cheap workforce, who can work up to twelve hours a day and would be content with low wage. On the other hand, illegal employment is dangerous both employer and worker, because employment of illegal immigrants contradicts to federal laws. Such considerable violation of rules, declared in the law, is both illegitimate and unethical, human values of equality are also neglected. Furthermore, low-wage workers, and immigrants in particular, experience psychological pressure, for instance, employers often intimidate those, who try to enforce the labor laws. Intimidation usually has many forms, for instance, threats to call police and enforcement authorities, refusal to hire the worker for following jobs. In addition, some employees use their physical power to substantiate their viewpoints. Such behavior discourages both immigration law and general ethical principles, which should be followed by each entrepreneur. Even though the company hiring illegal immigrants, has no code of ethics, it is important to follow at least the standards of legitimacy, which prohibit such actions. Child labor, which also takes place nowadays, is also an ethical concern related to low-wage workers. Children are viewed as controllable workforce, so company owners can ensure that children would not strike due to their age and the great need which force underage citizens to do hard manual work. For instance, at the beginning and the middle of the 20th century American children worked for large factories, mines, in agriculture, canneries and home industries, and as peddlers, newsboys and messengers (Girolamo, 2002). Nowadays, child labor is not widespread, but children still work as newspaper sellers or car washers and are paid much less than adult workers. Child labor is also regulated by federal laws; nevertheless, they do not receive appropriate wages and safety measures are often neglected by those who hire children. As one might assume, performing hazardous jobs often lead to traumas, so from the ethical standpoint, so those employers who hire children for such jobs, can be blamed for the lack of attention to the value of human life and health. In addition, those parents who allow their child to perform such jobs can be seen as both lawbreakers and neglectors of eternal values of parenthood. While the abovementioned ethical concerns are related to the internal organizational policies and attitudes of employers towards low-wage workers, there are also ethical issues, related to the positional of an individual in the society. For instance, Gottschalk and Smeeding discuss the value of fairness, which is particularly important for low-wage workers. "Morally arbitrary differences among us arising from the circumstances of our birth, upbringing, or current position in the market economy should not be permitted to create drastic differences in basic well-being or human dignity" (Gottschalk, Smeeding, 1997, p.23). Fair equality of opportunity is important, but social patterns, such as seeing the person only with regard to his/her merits, complicate the situation with fairness. Desert is also interesting ethical concern, especially with respect to low-wage workers. On the one hand, the income received by a person, at least, partially corresponds to his/her deserts, and "Arguments based on desert have often been used to defend market-derived inequality: in the labor market, pay is a function of productivity, and lower pay reflects a smaller contribution to production" (ibid, p.24). On the other hand, linking desert to physical effort, it is possible to say that manual low-paid work should be respected for its hardness. Critics argue that our social atmosphere is conductive for getting higher qualification or higher education, and, thus, being engaged in intellectual work (Bernstein, 1997), so the person always gets what he/she deserves. Thus, the low-wage work is a personal choice, which is determined either by the unwillingness to make a career or by the lack of information about the educational opportunities (ibid). To my view, this ethical dilemma is one of the most complicated social issues, and both sides of the debate create a clear substantiation of their viewpoints. To sum up, this essay has discussed ethical concerns as they relate to low-wage workers. As one might see, the most widespread ethical concerns are following: ethical dilemma of 'morality vs. utility', dissimilar attitudes of employers towards 'blue-collar' and 'white-collar' employees, problems with illegal immigrants, who might be used as working cattle, child labor and the problems with safety in workplace and the issue of social desert. Works cited 1) Approaches to ethical decision making, 2005. http://www.poznaklaw.com/articles/bizethics.htm 2) Bernstein, J. Has Wage Inequality Stopped Growing Monthly Labor Review 120 (December 1997) 3) Blank, R. It Takes a Nation: A New Agenda for Fighting Poverty. New York: Princeton University Press, 1997 4) Code of ethics, 2005. http://www.answers.com/topic/ethics-legal-term 5) Danziger, Sh. and Gottschalk, P. America Unequal. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1995 6) Girolamo, V. Newsboy funerals: tales of sorrow and solidarity in urban America. Journal of Social History , 36 (January 2002) 7) Gottschalk, P. and Smeeding, T. Cross-National Comparisons of Earnings and Income Inequality, Journal of Economic Literature 35 (June 1997). Read More