Employers note: women have the moral high ground

Here’s an interesting piece of research we came across recently: a philosopher has claimed that women are more moral than men. Professor Roger Steare developed a ‘moral DNA’ test four years ago to measure both a person’s morality and the changes in their value systems when they enter the workplace. The results of this research are something to take note of, for any employer trying to ensure full employee engagement.

Some 60,000 volunteers in more than 200 countries, ranging from chief executives to manual workers and housewives, took part in the questionnaire. According to Prof Steare, the results show that gender and age are most likely to influence morality. And it is women and the over-thirties proving the most moral. 

Prof Steare, who advises bluechip and FTSE 100 companies on how to combine profitability with the ethics of care, said: “The differences that emerged between men and women are valuable when we look at decision-making in the workplace. Women prefer to make their decisions based on how it impacts others – which tends to produce better decisions – while men have a more individual approach and are more self-interested. What this shows is that when it comes to work men have to grow up, put their ego to one side and show some humility and compassion – qualities they all too often have in their personal lives, but put to one side when they walk into the office.”

All interesting stuff for the employer, who is trying to get the best from his or her team, i.e. employee engagement. It doesn’t, of course, mean only the over thirties and women should be in the workforce (an interesting proposition!), but that bosses should be aware of this mindset among the younger, male members of their team.

Creating involvement across a group of colleagues, whatever their age or gender, so that they can work together effectively is what I do.   If you’d like some help and advice in this area, please get in touch.

And to take the MoralDNA test yourself, visit www.moraldna.org