Ethics for OHS Professionals Trish Ennis, MS, CSP, ARM, CRIS September 2016
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Ethics for OHS Professionals
Trish Ennis, MS, CSP, ARM, CRIS September 2016
Welcome to Ethics
“The reputation of a thousand years is determined by the conduct of one hour.”
– Japanese proverb
Objectives for today...
► Provide you with a greater awareness of the importance & benefits of ethical behavior in our profession
► Encourage you to think through ethical dilemmas before acting and “drill down”
► Increase your awareness of how your decisions impact others and the profession
► Review some of the tools available to help guide you through the decision-making process
Ethics Defined
►To itemize, ethics is... • a set of behavioral rules, • created by human beings, through general
consensus, • regulating our interactions with one another, • for the purpose of mutually increasing overall
long-term happiness, well-being, and prosperity,
• and is enforced, in mild cases, through social pressures and, in severe cases, through legal enforcement.
"We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of
doing, while others judge
us by what we have already
done.“ — Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow
Why the Interest in Professional Ethics?
►As occupations become more specialized, the ethical issues become more specialized
►Professional societies have increased efforts to establish ethical codes to guide members
►Increasing public scrutiny, lack of traditional deference
►Regulatory oversight, public protection ►Reputation risk management
Why the Interest in Professional Ethics?
Why a code of conduct?
►One of the core traits of a “profession” and its “professionals”
Profession Exclusive Body of Knowledge
Related Core Competencies
Specialized Advanced Education
Formal Entry Requirements •Certification •Registration •Licensure
Code of Ethics/Conduct
Autonomy Over Terms and
Conditions of Practice
Common Professional Values
►Integrity ►Honesty ►Promise keeping ►Loyalty ►Competence
►Respect for persons ► Justice ►Compassion ►Confidentiality
Professions as a special calling It is expected that the interests of the client will be placed
above the practitioner's personal interest OSH professionals are further expected to put the public
interest ahead of the client's interest Each profession creates its own rules of practice to assure
that the practitioner guides himself/herself along these lines Professional Codes of Conduct/Ethics were set up to address
some, but not all, such issues
Causes of Ethical Dilemmas (% who responded extremely important)
► On the job pressure (too many responsibilities) (56%) ► Pressure caused by economic implications of result ► Lack of experience ► Pressure caused by professional implications of result ► Poor design of study ► Friendship in regard to “whistle blowing” (40%) ► Competition with peers ► Lack of training in ethics (35.6%) ► Poor implementation of design ► Lack of communication skills ► Pressures not related to job (15.2%)
Conflicts of interest ►ASSE
Avoid situations that create actual, potential or perceived conflicts between personal and professional interests, and if a potential conflict of interest arises disclose all applicable facts to potentially affected parties.
Conflicts of interest
►BCSP Conduct their professional relations by the highest standards of integrity and avoid compromise of their professional judgment by conflicts of interest.
Conflicts of interest
►AIHA Each officer, director, and committee, working group, task force, liaison, representative or other volunteer group member (“volunteer leader”) and staff members should avoid both actual and apparent conflicts of interest that would interfere with their ability to discharge their fiduciary responsibilities to the American Industrial Hygiene Association (“AIHA”).
AIHA members have the obligation to:
►Maintain high standards of integrity and professional conduct
► Follow recognized sound scientific principles ►Accept responsibility for their actions ►Continually seek to enhance their professional
capabilities ► Practice with fairness and honesty ► Encourage others to act in a professional manner
Conflicts of interest
• A conflict of interest is considered a threat to the good that the profession seeks to achieve and is often also a threat to the profession’s reputation
• Secondary Interests Financial gain Desire for professional advancement Recognition for personal achievement Favors to friends, family or colleagues
Conflicts of interest- Scenarios
►Scenario 1: • You are asked to remove a recommendation
from an audit report ►Scenario 2: • As part of your responsibilities at work you
manage the organization’s relationship with a large consulting firm. Based in part on your recommendation, the consulting firm hires your son
Duty to Inform- Scenarios
• Scenario 1: Junior–level safety professional inspects the
fall-protection anchorage for a job and determines that it is inadequate
Senior-level safety professional tells the junior-level safety professional that the anchorage is adequate
No action is taken to reinforce the anchorage and an employee is injured when the anchorage gives way.
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