A very worrying 2019 Gartner study found that almost 60 percent of surveyed employees had witnessed unethical conduct in their workplaces, and, also disturbingly, very few of them reported these violations. This speaks to a larger and very troubling trend of the majority of companies having overly competitive, toxic work cultures in which cutting corners, turning a blind eye, and deceit are the norm.

Business ethics consultant and BigSpeak’s EVP Ken Sterling knows it doesn’t have to be this way. In his recent article for Inc., he shares how a company can create a value-driven culture able to weather a crisis and support employee engagement and customer satisfaction.

Be warned, he says, this is not something that can happen overnight; years of continuous effort are required to truly nurture an ethical work environment. None of this work will be in vain, however, when it results in a sustained, aligned organization.