Perseverance, Courage, and Compassion as Workplace Ethics

Introduction to Ethical Workplace Values

Ethical values in the workplace are more than abstract ideals — they are practical guides for behavior under pressure. Three values in particular — perseverance, courage, and compassion — shape how individuals navigate adversity, moral conflict, and human need in professional settings. Each of these values can be defined, studied in context, and applied through real-world decision-making. As the field of applied ethics makes clear, understanding a value is only the first step; the true test is how it informs action when circumstances become difficult.

Value: Perseverance is a way of acting that, in spite of difficulties, allows a forward purpose or progression. Another way of looking at perseverance in the workplace is to think of it as empowerment — the ability to strive forward through adversity and, when the process is no longer easy, continue moving toward success. One of the more important and critical aspects of this is our ability to prepare students to work in that kind of environment.

Perseverance: Pushing Through Adversity

Many students will have participated in sports, music, or other activities in high school, experiences in which they learn that they must work together, work hard, and not stop when an event occurs that requires more effort. As those students move into the college classroom, however, they are often faced with academic challenges that they do not translate into personal goal challenges.

Review: A 2002 study indicates that it is more important than ever to instill perseverance and goal-setting in modern students who may be entering the workplace. With globalization in effect, the number of multinational companies that expect a certain standard of behavior has increased; those without the necessary skills will likely fail (Costello et al., 2002).

Personal Opinion: Many modern students are not prepared to take the next step, whether at work, in the classroom, or in their personal lives. At the first sign of adversity, many want to quit and move on. The idea of learning in school how important it is to remain steadfast seems especially valuable, particularly in the new international business world.

Application in Workplace: You are working on a project to develop a new product extension and have been diligently preparing for a major presentation to the board. Suddenly, one of your suppliers backs out of a critical component two days before the presentation. This is an incredibly difficult situation, and you have choices: ask for more time, quit, or find a solution. You choose to work with the manufacturing chemist to find alternatives. Although you must work through the night, you locate an offshore supplier, redo the relevant pages with the new cost structure, update all stakeholders, and the presentation proceeds as planned.

Value: Courage — also called bravery — is the ability to confront something uncomfortable, whether pain, fear, or adversity, in both a moral and physical manner, in order to remain on course to do something better, faster, or simply necessary.

Courage: Acting Morally Under Pressure

Review: When one thinks of courageous actions, one often thinks of firefighters rescuing people, soldiers in battle, or lifeguards saving lives. However, looking back at the events of the mortgage and financial crisis, one must ask: why did so few people step up and call foul? As author William Streeter notes, "It's the rare person who will buck that kind of pressure, because they surmise it will cost them a commission, a promotion, or even their job. To speak up takes courage — a quality we all admire, especially from a safe distance. When we're on the spot, we find out how uncomfortable it can be" (2007).

The idea of courageous behavior extends far beyond the battlefield. If we take it to its most basic level — finding a situation each day in which to act morally and courageously — then when larger, more pressing events occur, we will be prepared to take that step. Yes, there is a price to pay for being courageous. But if enough people adopt that attitude, not only would our society improve, we might also avoid a repeat of the kind of fiscal crisis that resulted from widespread moral silence.

Personal Opinion: This makes sense. Many times people say: think global, act local. In a way, it is about taking the macro-problem and finding ways to solve the micro-problem that contributes to it. If we all do our part, it becomes easier for everyone.

Application in Workplace: You work for a pharmaceutical company and find a document in the trash that was never shredded. In it is a memo to the CEO about a new drug set to debut the following week, to great public acclaim. However, the memo states that there is evidence that 1 in every 1,000 people "may react poorly to the drug and fall into a coma." There is no certainty this will happen, and there is no way to isolate the mechanism in time. You know that the company has spent millions on this drug and that any delay in the launch will be fiscally catastrophic. What do you do: ignore the memo, write a note to your supervisor and forget it, or take it public? The courageous course of action would be to first attempt to stop the launch internally. Knowing the circumstances, however, it might also be prudent to have a backup plan for getting the information out should something unexpected prevent you from acting.

Value: Compassion is a human emotion, like empathy, that allows us to feel what others are feeling and to have a desire to help them.

Review: In the 21st century, the workplace has changed dramatically from even two decades prior. As a society, we are far more aware of diversity, personal issues, and the need to provide an appropriate psychological environment in order to train, manage, and cultivate loyal employees. In a world where advanced technology causes a merging of various cultural ideas, what is the key to keeping the workplace "human?"