By Adam Turteltaub
adam.turteltaub@corporatecompliance.org
I’ve long complained about those who talk about stopping wrongdoing, as if one day we’re going to get to the point when no one at any company does anything bad. Frankly, I think that’s only going to happen the day that the only “employees” are robots, and even then, someone likely will have programmed at least one of the robots to do something it shouldn’t.
People are people, and they tend to do bad things in one degree or another when given the opportunity to do so. It’s our job in compliance to try and dissuade them from doing so, and to put in controls that catch them quickly when they stray.
The latest example of the propensity of humans to cheat? Company activity challenges. These are competitions in which organizations try to encourage fitness by having employees count their steps on a fitness tracker. The employee with the most steps wins.
It’s a great and principled idea. It encourages employee health, which is good for employees and the company.
The problem? As the Wall Street Journal reported, employees (and at least one CFO) are cheating right, left and center. They’re attaching their fitness trackers to ceiling fans, gerbil wheels and puppies. There’s even a YouTube video showing you how to cheat on a fitness challenge using a power saw. It’s not the most exciting video, but it is pretty funny watching the Fitbit fly back and forth.
The bottom line is that people will always be tempted to break the rules, even if the only reward is a t-shirt and bragging rights. So, the next time anyone asks you “when will the compliance program be finished?” or “when will this corporate wrongdoing come to an end?”, show them the WSJ article or the YouTube video.
And, if you’re really brave, ask them how well they’re sticking to their diet.
[clickToTweet tweet=”People will always be tempted to break the rules, even if the only reward is a t-shirt and bragging rights ” quote=”People will always be tempted to break the rules, even if the only reward is a t-shirt and bragging rights” theme=”style3″]
Sometimes, “gaming the system” or “playing with the rules” easily becomes misconduct and an integrity violation. It can be a slippery slope or a clear cross of the line. Your example shows the ease with which this happens.
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