How Financial Managers Deal with Ethical Stress

Abstract

This article explores the way public‐sector financial managers cope with ethical challenges created by undue political pressure and demands for special treatment. A nationwide survey of financial managers revealed that fiscal stress exacerbates ethical pressure for most financial managers, including chief financial officers (CFOs) and those who report to CFOs. Financial managers do not work in an ethical vacuum; they respond to supervisors who encourage ethical action and to coworkers who demonstrate high standards of personal integrity. Supervisors of CFOs who emphasize political responsiveness in employee evaluations can threaten the ethical behavior of CFOs, while timely feedback can mitigate ethical pressure. In turn, CFOs as supervisors can temper the harsh work environment in fiscally stressed times by encouraging ethical action and by giving adequate feedback to those who report to them.

Gender differences in the measurement of pharmacists’ job satisfaction

“…Support from one’s supervisor also fosters contentment by virtue of increasing confidence and relieving anxiety [ 47 – 49 ]; according to Kahaleh and Gaither [ 50 ], this occurs when pharmacists acquire empowerment, which engenders greater organizational commitment. Good relations with coworkers is the last satisfaction-related facet analyzed here; not only do coworkers provide a dynamic and interactive background for self-expression, but they also form informal networks characterized by a horizontal flow of communication preferred by employees over channels of authority through which commands and information are transmitted downward and upward [ 51 ]. Several studies indicate that good relations with coworkers lead to job satisfaction by pharmacists [ 5 , 26 , 41 ].…”

Gender, age, and pharmacists’ job satisfaction

“…Coworkers are organization members with whom pharmacists interact in performing their job and who have approximately the same level of power and authority. They are influential in the work environment95 because they provide a dynamic communication conduit. While formal channels of communication within an institution transmit orders and instructions from the top down and information, feedback, and suggestions from the bottom up, coworkers constitute an informal network characterized by a horizontal exchange flow.…”

Work-Related Stressors and Health-Related Outcomes in Public Service

“…The multifarious demands from the political and administrative realms, coupled with conflicting goals, contribute to an atmosphere of uncertainty and tension that generates stress (Leys, 1952). Public employees face frequent accountability conflicts and ethical tensions, which generate ethics-induced stress (Menzel, 1993(Menzel, , 1996Miller, Yeager, Hildreth, & Rabin, 2005). Ethics stress occurs when an individual's ethical outlook or standards differ significantly from the prevailing ethos or standards of members of her or his organization.…”

“…Frequently mentioned ethics stressors in municipal governments are promotion and hiring practices, elected official behaviors, council-manager relations, and biding and contracting practices (Menzel, 1996). Public financial managers encounter great ethical pressures that are exacerbated by fiscal stresses (Miller et al, 2005).…”