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Public services lead most-trusted jobs as ethics rises on Australians’ radars
Ethics is of all-time high importance for Australians today, in a millennial-driven trend the Governance Institute of Australia says is also widening the gap between ethical expectations and behaviour.
The most ethical occupations, according to respondents to the Governance Institute’s Ethics Index 2023, are public-serviced based: fire services, ambulance services and pharmacists. Media remains the least trusted sector, and while politicians across the board saw a “significant boost” in public ethical perceptions, they remained in the bottom 10 professions.
The overall Ethics Index Score was 45, a return to 2021 levels after dropping to 42 last year, largely driven by improvement in ethical perceptions of the public service, according to Governance Institute CEO Megan Motto.
“For the past few years, the survey has been conducted within the prism of a global pandemic – an event which has had a seismic effect on all our lives,” Motto said in revealing the 2023 Index. “This year, with the immediate challenges of COVID-19 now largely in the rearview mirror, the nation’s attention is turning towards uncertainties around the rapid growth in the use of artificial intelligence, the economy and the referendum on the Voice to Parliament.”
Motto noted that the increasing level of importance placed on ethics in Australian society – garnering an all-time-high index score of 84, up from 79 last year – is largely attributable to the millennial cohort.
The top ethical issues for 2023 were cost of living, cybersecurity and the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Seventy-three per cent of respondents said they consider it an urgent ethical obligation for companies to inform customers of all data breaches.
Motto noted that while the ethics score has mostly remained steady, the fact that ethics has risen in importance shows expectations aren’t being met.
“The Ethical Expectation Deficit – which is the gap between the value we place on ethical behaviour and the perception – is growing wider,” she said. “This indicates that there’s still plenty of work to do by organisations and individuals, both in the public and private spheres, to ensure good, ethical conduct and a positive culture remain top of the agenda.”
The largest deficits in performance were in banking/finance, government, large corporations and media. The smallest deficits were in health, charities and education.
The education sector is perceived to be the most ethical, followed by the health sector. Pharmacists saw improved scores, and are now seen as one of the most ethical occupations, joining nurses and GPs. Meanwhile, membership associations were perceived as somewhat ethical, and the public service and government sectors rebounded after a period of decline, the Index stated.
The 2023 edition found public perceptions of politicians’ ethical behaviour at all government levels experienced a significant boost – although they’re still at the lower end of the spectrum of ethical occupations.
The most ethical occupations were fire services, ambulance services and pharmacists, with scores of 75, 74 and 73, respectively.
The annual survey, now in its eight year, looks at perceptions of ethical issues and conduct in Australian society to reveal the most and least ethical occupations, organisations and sectors. Conducted by market research company Ipsos, the 2023 edition surveyed 1,000 Australians in June and July.
