The relation between a supervisor and supervisee can be very delicate. Often, the supervisee is at the receiving end because of hierarchy. Therefore, to protect the interests of the supervisee, there are certain ethical standards that a supervisor needs to adhere to. Exhibiting ethical behavior indicates professional approach of a supervisor.
It is the duty of a supervisor to provide an atmosphere conducive to boosting personal and professional growth of each and every employee. It includes delivering training, helping in the learning process by supporting the supervisee in whatever way possible, and also seeing that the client is well served by every employee.
Although research shows that a majority of supervisors adhere to ethical practices such as keeping employees up to date, meeting them regularly and sharing knowledge about the customs, practices, legal and ethical responsibilities, and so forth. However, research suggests that many of them do not adhere to several other ethical guidelines. One example of a practice that most supervisors can build a reputation of doing better is maintaining transparency within the department. Research indicates that as many as 50% of all supervisors do not adhere to ethical behavior guidelines, especially as it relates to transparency.
It is observed that when supervisors don’t comply with the ethical guidelines that it is reflected in a weak working relationship and alliance of the supervisor and employees.
Supervisory alliance encompasses three factors. These are:
· Relationship between the supervisor and the employee
· Understanding of the purview of supervision
· An understanding of the tasks that will be supervised
When there is a strong work relationship between the supervisor and employee, it will result in improved efficiency, role clarity and transparency. It also results in greater job satisfaction for the employee.
Too often, supervisors adhere to unethical practices, such as sexual overtures, discrimination between the employees, lack of transparency etc. Often, a supervisor who is not confident about himself would resort to dirty tactics such as not communicating enough of the organizational guidelines, or will not delegating important work, and so on.
Of course unethical practices or neglecting effective communication and training will have a negative impact on productivity of each team member and will also result in employee dissatisfaction. In such circumstances, the employee and team may suffer from anxiety. Employee anxiety is a condition where the supervisee is in a constant state of apprehension, stress, uneasiness and fear whenever the supervisee has to interact with the supervisor. In many cases, the supervisee will carry the grudge home, and it will affect his family life as well.
It is quite common to feel slightly anxious while dealing with the supervisor, because of the nature of ‘boss-subordinate’ relationship. However, if the employee feels overly anxious, then it is a cause of concern. This is because over anxiety will adversely affect employee performance. He will start showing lack of interest, and will show negative response to the supervision. For example, if a supervisee feels that the supervisor favors another employee in the department, and divulges confidential conversation to that employee, then, he may lose trust in the supervisor. This will have a great impact on work, self esteem and the supervision response. Worst of all, the employee too may resort to unethical practices.
Just as supervisors follow unethical practices, employees may also resort to unethical behavior. It is very important to know that one of the most common unethical employee behaviors is to bypass authority. So, with this in mind, supervisors must be aware of the long-term consequences of his/her behaviors. Little things done or not done can lead to unhappy teams and ultimately organizational demise.
