Nordic Business Ethics Survey

A study of Nordic employees’ perception of ethics at work

The Nordic Business Ethics Survey is a pioneering survey into employees’ views on ethics across multiple business sectors and job roles.

The Survey was conducted the first time in January 2019, with results launched in April 2019. The initial Survey had 1.500 respondents from Finland, Norway and Sweden. The Survey was well received and portrayed in the media (2019 media archive)

The 2020 edition of the Survey, launched in October 2020, was extended to Denmark, and now include 4.000 respondents from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. In addition to the general Survey questions, we also added some ‘Ethics Pulse’ questions relating to hot topics.

The Survey data has been gathered in 2019 and 2020 by Kantar TNS and is enabled by the generous support from Forensic Risk Alliance.

WHY to study ethics at workplace?

Our ambition with this study is to advance the discussion around right and wrong behaviour in our workplaces and contribute to the efforts to build an ethical culture and ethical leadership. We want to promote the understanding of how a proactive approach and transparent discussions are a clear business advantage and raise the bar of what is expected in terms of processes and leadership.

Nordic Business Ethics Survey looks into employees’ views on ethics across multiple business sectors and job roles.

The Survey asked employees e.g. the following type of questions:

  • What types of unethical behaviours have you experienced or witnessed at work?
  • Do you feel comfortable of speaking up of a potential misconduct?
  • What was the reason not to intervene for unethical behaviour?
  • Does your company reward for ethical behaviour?
  • See the full set of questions here.