UN Guide for Anti-Corruption Policies - United Nations Office on ...

4. Employee culture and motivation, and the creation of positive incentives
The culture and motivation of officials is a critical factor at several stages of a
corruption-prevention programme. Where corrupt values and practices have
been adopted and institutionalized as cultural norms, officials tend to persist in
such practices themselves and to be resistant to structural or cultural re<strong>for</strong>ms
to reduce corruption or strengthen transparency and accountability.
Bureaucratic cultures are influenced by factors such as status, wages,
working conditions, job security, career advancement and the nature of the
duties themselves. Once established, entrenched cultural values tend to be
very difficult to uproot, particularly in relatively closed, rigid bureaucracies
such as those commonly associated with the police or military personnel.
For several reasons, low status, salaries and living standards contribute to
cultural values sympathetic to corruption. At a practical level, officials with low
living standards are more likely to be tempted by bribes or other benefits that
would improve those standards. On the other hand, officials who enjoy high
status and high living standards have more to lose if they are disciplined or
prosecuted <strong>for</strong> corrupt practices; they are there<strong>for</strong>e more susceptible to
deterrence measures. Low salaries and living standards are also commonly
associated with low morale and low self-esteem, both of which can create
moral justification or rationalization <strong>for</strong> corrupt behaviour. The behaviour of the
officials in such cases will be determined by a combination of factors, both
subjective and objective. Employees who consider themselves unfairly treated
may engage in corrupt practices to obtain what they see as fair compensation,
or as a <strong>for</strong>m of revenge against employers or society.
Ultimately, corruption tends be associated with how the corrupt officials
perceive their situation, which itself depends, to some degree, on the actual
conditions in which they find themselves. Often an official will compare his/her
own situation with the conditions enjoyed by others, <strong>for</strong> example private-sector
workers with apparently equivalent duties, or those employed in positions
commonly encountered by the officials in the course of their duties. If a wide
gap is perceived, officials are tempted to migrate to the higher-paying careers,
thus leaving the public service, or to engage in corrupt practices to raise their
own standard of living and status to "more acceptable" levels. Examples of
that phenomenon abound in the area of narcotics en<strong>for</strong>cement, where even
relatively well paid officials are sometimes tempted by the affluence and
ostentatious lifestyles of the major offenders they encounter.
To reduce such tendencies, adequate salaries, status and working conditions
<strong>for</strong> officials are important preventive measures. Similarly, career
advancements, such as promotion and salary increases, should be based on
merit rather than corrupt criteria. While re<strong>for</strong>ms such as salary increases can
be costly, public officials must be assured of an adequate standard of living in
comparison with their private-sector counterparts, and their status and salary
levels should be commensurate with the workloads, duties and levels of
responsibility involved.
It is unlikely that any af<strong>for</strong>dable salary increase will match the potential
incomes from corrupt practices, particularly in developing countries where
resources are in short supply. In such cases, educating officials about the
importance of the work they do can also help to increase professional status,
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