Editorial. Ethical sensitivity : shaping the everyday work environment

Ethical behaviours are much discussed and their importance is widely acknowledged (Cleary, Horsfall, Jackson, & Hunt, 2012). While many ethical guideline documents and codes of conduct aim to promote ethical conduct in the workplace (Cleary, Walter, Andrew, & Jackson, 2013), their efficacy is questionable, given the continued reports in the literature of workplace violations and poor collegial behaviours (Hutchinson, Jackson, Vickers, & Wilkes, 2006a; Jackson et al., 2010b). This is a matter of concern to nurses, and the dissonance between nursing’s espoused values and the workplace experiences of many nurses has been acknowledged (Broome & Williams-Evans, 2011). Indeed, it can be difficult to reconcile the ethos of the caring profession with the behaviour that is widely reported as being seen and experienced in the workplace (Hutchinson et al., 2006a; Hutchinson, Jackson, Vickers, & Wilkes, 2006b; Jackson, Hutchinson, et al., 2011; Jackson et al., 2010a).