The ethics of worker safety nets for corporate change

Corporate change and employee dislocation are inevitable in a free market. However, the current employment relationship in the U.S. that affords a perceived employment safety net is contrary to the natural canon of honesty. Employees cannot be guaranteed employment when a company fails or a product is no longer viable. Attempts to provide costly employment safety nets cause a firm to allocate resources to nonproductive programs that may ultimately cause a loss of competitiveness. These strategies to provide alternate employment may provide only short-term solutions. But even short-term safety nets against unemployment may be sending employees unrealistic messages ... a permanent safety net against unemployment. As a result, employees may lose incentive to be innovative in creating their own personal safety nets. The resolution is candor about the risk of employment. A false employment safety net is not what employees want or need and in the long run it may be detrimental to American competitiveness.Marianne M. Jennings is a professor of legal and ethical studies in business in the College of Business at Arizona State University. She is an attorney who has served as a commissioner for the Arizona Corporation Commission. She is the author of four textbooks and two monographs includingBusiness and its Legal Environment andAvoiding and Surviving Lawsuits: An Executive Guide to Legal Strategy for Business. She currently serves as a director for Arizona Public Service and is a columnist forThe Arizona Republic.Larry R. Smeltzer is Chairman of the Department of Business Administration and specializes in Management Communication. He has published numerous articles in such journals asHarvard Business Review and theJournal of Management as well as several books.Marie F. Zener recently completed her dissertation on organizational change and earned a PhD. in Business Administration. She has a background in communication strategy and has taught at Boise State University and Arizona State University.