The business world can be rude, lack empathy, and undergo unexpected crisis at any

moment. During these crises, firms are looking for people who are able to tackle their issues
in any way possible, and millennials are those left to solve the problem. When a company is
implied in an ethical scandal, its reputation is involved, but what about individuals? How
should we react to these kinds of pressures in the workplace?

John F. Kennedy once stated, “the future promise of any nation can be directly
measured by the present prospects of its youth.” As a millennial myself, in three years I will
be in the workforce. I’m aware of the business world I will be immersed in, and the dilemmas
I will have to face.
Firstly, I aim to work for a company that aligns with my goals and aspirations. I need
to find a purpose in my work, and come home every night with a feeling of achievement. I do
not expect to stay in the same company for my entire life, so if once my boss asks me to do
something unethical, why would I do that if I know that it is not the job of my life? Why
should I sacrifice myself and my values for something that would not serve my interests and
could possibly ruin my career?
I live in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world that includes differing
ethical behavior amongst generations, this evolution is displayed in a 2013 study titled
Generational Differences in Workplace Ethic.
Nevertheless, my generation is aware of the importance of ethics, especially in
environmental issues. Ethics still has its place in modern society, and the 2017 Deloitte
Millennial Survey proved that the young population prefers to work in an ethical society
rather than in a society with a high revenue figure.
Moreover, I think that business ethics and management classes allow millennials to be
aware of a lot of potential issues. The best way to avoid unethical practices is to familiarize
ourselves with potential issues in our field, and be sure that we know the consequences of this
unethical behavior. In the book, Lost in transition the dark side of emerging adulthood, by
sociologist Christian Smith, he discusses the results of thousands of interview surveys that he
conducted with emerging adults regarding their understanding of ethics. He discovered that
children often do raise ethical questions, but ignored by their teachers in order to avoid
controversy. In preparation for the workplace, I will follow the fundamentals from my ethic
and law classes to encourage ethical behavior.

Overall, most people do not have the understanding to know that they are acting
unethically, so I believe that the key to avoid immoral behavior is knowledge. When someone
knows is doing something wrong, the cons usually outweigh the pros, and the consequences
are not worth it.
The university is the best gateway to cultivate my own ethical awareness and develop
the skills needed to reject the pressure and act ethically in the business world.

Magalie PARTOUCHE
 Works Cited

ETHICS RESOURCES CENTER, and NATIONAL BUSINESS ETHICS SURVEY.

“GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN WORKPLACE ETHICS.”, Raytheon
Company, 2013,
rsp.uni.edu/sites/default/files/ERC%20Generational%20Differences.pdf.

DELOITTE. “MILLENIAL SURVEY.” DELOITTE, 2017,

www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/global/Documents/About-Deloitte/gx-
deloitte-millennial-survey-2017-executive-summary.pdf.

SMITH, Christian. Lost in Transition the Dark Side of Emerging Adulthood. New York :
Oxford University Press, 2011.

Education, orientation. “Pour Les Jeunes, l’Éthique Est plus Importante Que Les Résultats.”
Orientation Education, 2016, www.orientation-education.com/article/pour-les-jeunes-l-
ethique-est-plus-importante-que-les-resultats.