Ice age: St James Centre has someone to turn to

One of your collegues is performing well and due for a promotion, but is using methamphetamines on weekend. What do you do?

St James Ethics Centre Ethi-call counselling supervisor Elisabeth Shaw.

You work in a high-powered accountancy firm handling companies with multi-million-dollar turnovers. Yet you know one of your colleagues, who is performing well and due for a promotion, has been using methamphetamine on weekends and occasionally during the week.

You know drug abuse is wrong but consider what he is doing in his own time is his business. But you also have concerns he may go too far with his recreation­al use and it may affect his work, clients and the firm. If you raise it with your boss, you will feel terrible and know it potentially can ruin his career. But you are aware it also can mean he is given the help he needs and potential damage to the company’s reputation will be avoided.

How would you deal with the ethical dilemma?

St James Ethics Centre Ethi-call counselling supervisor Elisabeth Shaw deals with similar issues on an almost daily basis.

“We’re guiding people through ideas and thinking through the mindset they have,” she says. “The idea is to shine the light through the dark corners; what are the assumptions running through people’s minds. It gives people the opportunity to unpack their thoughts and their transactions.”

Shaw is a clinical psychologist and author who was the director of services at Relationships Australia for a decade before moving to the St James Ethics Centre. With several masters degrees and in her role on various organisations and boards, including the Australian Psychological Society’s ethics committee, she is ideally placed to discuss workplace ethics and philosophies.

The centre, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, opened its Ethi-call phone line soon after operations began. The free, national service ensures calls are anonymous unless people want to share their details. Generally calls are booked in advance to ensure there is a team of professionals, including psychologists and business people, on hand.

While the centre deals with more than just workplace ethical issues, Shaw says the centre has built a profile in the business sector because of its ability to advise and help employers and employees think and talk through issues.

Many people turn to colleagues or partners to discuss workplace ethical issues, but there are times an independent voice of reason can help.

Some call to discuss their own situation and what they may be pushed to do by their employer, which they feel blurs boundaries between right and wrong.

“We get people who say, ‘How far can I take this?’ ” Shaw says. “When they’re managing workplace and business contacts, they ask, ‘How far am I prepared to go?’ They ask whether their job is at risk and, if it is, how far do they go before it becomes a risk to their family. Where there’s corruption or a coercive act, sometimes people are unsure about the deals being done or the relationships in the office, or there’s something going on that’s not clear.”

Shaw says people often want advice on what their duties are to themselves, their teams, their employers and legally. They want to know if it is ethical to “take one for the team”, and how far should a situation progress before they are officially compromised.

“Sometimes people in the accountancy profession say they’ve been directed to do something which they are uncomfortable about,” she says.

Family business partners regularly raise concerns about siblings fighting with each other, how they can protect their relationships, and how to build a business when working with relatives.

Shaw says the line does not offer legal advice but is a sounding board to help people talk through issues and decision-making.

“One of the cornerstones is ethical decision-making, leading to ethical action,” she says. “We talk to people about being aware of their choices.”

People who call the line have often gone through company policy first, or can be unsure of their rights and obligations. They often discuss what action they are considering taking.

Shaw says that at the end of a call they often tell her they need to undertake further research or feel as though their own thoughts and plans have been validated.

“It’s an endorsement of people’s right and wrong,” she says. “Whistleblowers ask what’s going to happen to them as well.

“We say there’s a whistleblowers’ association and they are often in torment about what to do.

“Whistleblowers tend not to act impulsively.”

The centre rarely deals with people on the cusp of acting physically or threatening their own lives — they generally know when to call Lifeline — and they know the difference between a life-altering decision and a moral issue.

But Shaw says most are already aware of what they need to do because people generally have a moral compass.

During the past 25 years workplace dilemmas have become more common, Shaw says, particularly with the advent of globalisation, 24-hour communication and mobile devices. All workplaces have differences of opinions, genders, age groups and varying levels of diversity.

What is essential, Shaw says, is understanding and having a high level of emotional intelligence, allowing counsellors to talk through issues with clients.

“Some people think they’re going nuts and can’t rely on their own emotional intelligence; other people say they’re in scary territory,” she says.

“It’s about trying to develop a rational response to an issue and coming out of their organisation where they can ring someone who’s independent and who has no interest in their organisation.

“They find it very liberating.”

The free Ethi-call service can be contacted on 1800 672 303.