One of the Ethics Forum's most significant activities is an annual study, to be presented at a public conference, on a topic of particular relevance in the national context, with the aim of increasing knowledge about organisational ethics in the Portuguese context.
In 2021, the annual study coincided with the triennial study, Ethics at Work | Survey of Employees, by the Institute of Business Ethics (IBE), of which we have been a National Partner since 2018. The presentation of the 2024 edition is already scheduled for November. Find out more here. In 2023 the theme was Ethics and Generational Diversity at Work and in 2022 Ethics and Hybrid Labour.
Ethics and Generational Diversity at Work (2023)
"Ethics and Generational Diversity at Work" was the theme of the Ethics Forum's annual study in 2023. Initially, the study resulted in a survey report "Ethics and Generational Diversity at Work: Views from Four Generations" and then a new collective book "Generational Diversity: (Dis)Encounters?".
The first results of this study were released at the Annual Conference of the Ethics Forum, which took place on 17 October 2023 at the Católica Porto Business School.
"Do multigenerational teams improve productivity? Does turning 50 bring new concerns at work? Are there differences between generations in terms of perceived age and real age? What does each generation value most in the workplace? Do the different generations know what ‘ageism’ is?"
These were some of the questions debated during the presentation of the Ethics Forum's annual study on "Ethics and Generational Diversity at Work".
Among the preliminary data presented, the answers collected among the participants revealed, for example, that the majority of young adults (18 to 30 years old) feel pressure to show their worth because of their age (70 per cent). Among those over 60, almost half (43 per cent) have worked harder to exceed people's expectations of them as representatives of a particular generation.
To complement this enquiry and give thickness to ethical reflection through the integration of different voices, spaces and times underlying the narratives, we have published "Generational Diversity: (Un)Encounters?", the second Collective Book of the Ethics Forum. It is "a book designed as a laboratory for thought experiments, as a space for critical reading and as a tool for promoting ethical reflection in organisations". The first presentation of the book took place on 23 May 2024, watch the video below.
VER Special - Ethics and Generational Diversity at Work 2023
Special “Ethics and Generational Diversity at Work”
The Ethics Forum of Católica Porto Business School has chosen generational diversity at work as the theme for its annual study and conference. In this Special, we present the process of creating this study, the perspectives of Piet Naudé and Luísa Lopes, guest speakers at the conference in question, the main results of the report of a survey of more than a thousand workers and the interesting debate resulting from a round table on the same subject. Because it is an unavoidable reality in today's workplaces, because it concerns us all and because we need to reflect and act to achieve a healthy coexistence of four generations in the same working environment, the following articles are a must-read.
Ethics and Hybrid Work (2022)
In 2022, the theme chosen was “Ethics and Hybrid Work” and gave rise to the Collective Book “Proximities and Distances: ethical challenges of hybrid work” and the survey report “Ethics and Hybrid Work: in the Aftermath of the Pandemic” presented at the conference “Ethics and Hybrid Work: Reflections and Reflections”, which took place on November 22 at Católica Porto.
This is an exploratory study of a complex and multidimensional, but unavoidable topic. In fact, practically all studies on remote or hybrid work predict that, in the near future, there will necessarily be flexibility in the design of models that allow working from home and, as a result, interactions between members of the organization will change in frequency, time and method, with profound implications for ethics and compliance management.
This study aims to support organizations in identifying opportunities, create guidelines for (re)imagining the future of the workforce and that of organizations, and contribute to the emergence of (more) humanized, more ethical workspaces.
Conference Ethics and Hybrid Work: Reflections and Reflections (22.11. 2022)
Agenda:
17h00 Welcome: Rui Sousa, Dean of Católica Porto Business School
17h10 Presentation of the Ethics Forum: Helena Gonçalves, coordinator of the Forum
17h20 Ethical Hybrid Workplace: Challenges and Opportunities, Muel Kaptein, Erasmus University Rotterdam
18h00 Framework and presentation of the study “Ethics and Hybrid Work”: Helena Gonçalves, Helena Gil da Costa, Henrique Manuel Pereira and Susana Magalhães, coordinators of the Study
Results of the Survey “Ethics and Hybrid Work: in the Aftermath of the Pandemic”
Collective Book "Ethics and Hybrid Work: Proximities and Distances“
18h30 Round table ”Ethics and Hybrid Work: Perspectives in Dialogue": Moderated by Sofia Salgado Pinto, lecturer at CPBS, Independent Director of listed companies
Gonçalo Quadros, Founder and Chairman of Critical Software
José Teixeira, Chairman of the Board of Directors of DST Group
Maria Manuel Araújo Jorge, Researcher at the Philosophy Institute of the Faculty of Letters of the University of Porto
Sofia Reis Jorge, Director of ALTRI
19h30 Closing: Isabel Braga da Cruz, President of the UCP Porto Regional Center
Relatório do inquérito "Ética e Trabalho Híbrido: no Rescaldo da Pandemia".
Livro Coletivo “Ética e Trabalho Híbrido: Proximidades e Distâncias”
DOCUMENTÁRIO "O MELHOR DE DOIS MUNDOS?"
In a second phase, on May 16, 2023, bringing together approaches, visions and experiences on the subject of “Ethics and Hybrid Work”, the documentary “O Melhor de dois Mundos?" (The Best of Both Worlds?) was released.
Complementing the Inquiry Report: “Ethics and Hybrid Working: in the Aftermath of the Pandemic”, Henrique Manuel Pereira's documentary, “The Best of Both Worlds?”, looks to the future and questions face-to-face and remote working, based on business testimonies.
On this day, a new version of the Collective Book was also presented, both on paper and as an e-book. The construction of the Collective Book “Ética e Trabalho Hibrido: Proximidades e Distâncias”, (Ethics and Hybrid Work: Proximities and Distances), the first work in the Ethics Forum Collection, by UCP Editora, was conceived as an open window, a listening space that widens as it is read. The narratives collected, through the invitation to reflect on the ethical and therefore relational experience that each person has lived, is living or will live in a hybrid work context, can be a laboratory of experience in thought for each reader. Like all good stories, the story of this book has a beginning, but not an end, as the reader is invited to write (and share) their own reflections.
This May's session also revealed the theme of the next study - “Ethics and Generational Diversity at Work” - and the date of the Annual Conference, to be held on October 17, 2023.
Special VER - Ethics and Hybrid Work 2022
This special edition is the result of a long period of work carried out during 2022, as explained by the coordinator of the Ethics Forum at Católica Porto Business School, Helena Gonçalves, which culminated in the conference “Ethics and Hybrid Work: Reflections and Reflections”, an event rich in information, testimonies and debate. International speaker Muel Kaptein, a specialist in ethics, set the tone and, in an interview, expressed his vision of the possible benefits and harms inherent in the hybrid model, warning of a decrease in transparency and an increase in fraud in organizations. The results of the survey “Ethics and Hybrid Work: in the aftermath of the pandemic”, a summary of which you can find here, are a must-read. Another “product” resulting from this exploratory study was a “collective book”, with beautiful illustrations accompanying a set of must-read testimonial stories. Finally, a summary of the round table that was attended by Gonçalo Quadros, José Teixeira, Maria Manuel Araújo Jorge, Sofia Reis Jorge and moderated by Sofia Salgado.
Ethics and Hybrid Work in the Press
TSF - Pós-pandemia: maioria dos trabalhadores prefere modelo de trabalho híbrido
Human Resources - Esmagadora maioria dos colaboradores estão satisfeitos o trabalho híbrido. Há um motivo que se destaca (e não é o worklife balance)
Sábado - Trabalho presencial ou híbrido? "Empresas têm de ouvir cada trabalhador"
Ethics at Work (2021)
In 2021 the annual study coincided with the triennial study, Ethics at Work | Survey of Employees, by the Institute of Business Ethics (IBE), of which we have been a National Partner since 2018. Find out more here. The 2024 edition is already being prepared.
Ethical challenges in times of pandemic (2020)
A study developed by the Ethics Forum, with the aim of taking a snapshot of how the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic was experienced from an ethical point of view in organizations in 2020.
To this end, a survey was carried out in an attempt to understand how the pandemic was experienced, what possible anxieties it brought, which decisions were the most difficult to make and how all the new issues faced by managers and employees were dealt with.
The results of the study were presented in October in an article in the Portal VER - Ethics in companies in times of pandemic - results of the survey and indicate that more than half (53%) of the people who responded to the survey consider that they have had more ethical challenges during the lockdown period and that these challenges are mostly linked to issues related to reconciling work with family (in the case of managers it is not only their family but also that of their employees) and issues of fairness. Much mentioned in the open responses, especially by managers, is the knowledge, and sometimes the need, to give different responses to the particular situations of some workers, to pay attention to the individual.
Articles on the study:
Portal VER - Desafios éticos em tempos de Pandemia
Portal VER - A importância de (re)conhecer emoções
Portal VER - Ética pós-covid: obrigatório repensar
Dinheiro Vivo - Estudo: Pandemia aumentou desafios éticos nas empresas;
Jornal Económico - Ética no mundo VUCA
Human Resources - A ética nas empresas em tempos de pandemia