By Marco Buscaglia

Skills, training and experience usually take center stage during the hiring process, but workplace integrity — particularly honesty — remains one of the most valuable yet underestimated professional assets. Research consistently shows that organizational trust directly impacts employee engagement, retention and overall business performance.

“Honesty in the workplace goes beyond simply not lying. It’s all about your capabilities, transparency, admitting when you screw up, providing honest feedback to your coworkers,” says Travis March, a career adviser in San Diego, California. “Most of all, it’s about having strong ethical standards and sticking to them, whether you’re working in a group or alone.”

According to a 2024 Workplace Trust Survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, 78% of employees rank honesty as the most important quality they seek in colleagues and supervisors. The same study found that employees in high-trust environments report 74% less stress, 106% more energy and 50% higher productivity.

Honesty can take many forms:

Finance: Financial analysts, accountants and investment professionals handle sensitive information that impacts major decisions. Honesty in reporting numbers, disclosing potential conflicts of interest and maintaining accurate records isn’t just ethical — it’s legally required. Many companies have established whistleblower protections precisely because financial honesty safeguards entire organizations.

Data: When data scientists and analysts present information to leadership, honesty about methodology limitations, their margin of error and alternative interpretations helps prevent organizations from making potentially costly decisions based on misleading information.

Project management: Project managers who honestly communicate timelines, resource needs and potential obstacles create realistic expectations.

Collaboration: In collaborative environments like marketing agencies, research teams and software development groups, honesty about individual contributions helps each team member receive their share of recognition. “No one likes the person who takes all the credit, and with so much information shared online today, that kind of workplace dishonesty won’t be kept a secret from potential new employers,” says March.

Construction and manufacturing: Construction workers, electricians and manufacturing technicians who honestly report safety concerns, material defects or procedure violations prevent accidents and ensure structural integrity. While pressure to complete projects certainly exists, experienced professionals recognize that cutting corners can have serious consequences.

“I’ve talked with a lot of supervisors who say how much they value team members who promptly admit errors,” says March. “If someone is honest about what’s happening, the staff can immediately correct those mistakes. It’s a much better strategy than hoping mistakes — even small, seemingly inconsequential ones — wouldn’t be discovered.

Tribune News Service