Organisational climate is a key topic in organisational ethics. It is a collection of shared perceptions and feelings of organisation members regarding various aspects of the work environment. Organisational climate can be studied using different methods, among which the most popular are standardised questionnaires, such as Litwin and Stringer’s Organisational Climate Questionnaire (OCQ) or Moos’s Work Environment Scale (WES).
Research on organisational climate typically focuses on dimensions such as structure and role clarity, interpersonal support, standards and expectations, responsibility and autonomy, rewards and recognition, conflict management, identity and belonging, innovation, and leadership. Scientists from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and SWPS University (in Poznań and Katowice), noted that in Poland, there is a lack of measures dedicated to verifying organisational climate. Their recently published study in Nature (The Polish version of the Ethical Climate Questionnaire), aims to examine the psychometric properties of the Ethical Climate Questionnaire (ECQ) in Polish business conditions.
Ethical dimensions of organisations
The authors base their work on organisational ethical climate, defined as employees’ shared perceptions of what constitutes appropriate behaviour in the workplace. Originally developed by Bart Irwin Victor and John B. Cullen, the theoretical framework combines three ethical categories (egoism, benevolence, principles) with three reference groups (individual, local, cosmopolitan), creating nine dimensions. However, empirical research typically identifies five climate types: instrumental (emphasising self-interest), caring (prioritising others’ wellbeing), independence (valuing individual ethical beliefs), law and code (emphasising legal compliance), and rules (focusing on organisational procedures).
Research shows caring climates correlate with positive outcomes like job satisfaction and organisational commitment, while instrumental climates associate with negative outcomes like workplace deviance and turnover intention. The researchers identify a striking deficiency in Polish ethical climate studies, with just seven publications (2013-2023) and no validated Polish assessment tools — particularly unexpected given rising interest in positive organisations and employee wellbeing.
Challenges to organisational culture in Poland
The “Dignity Has a Name (Godność ma swoje imię)” report highlighted the problem of workplace bullying in Polish companies. The findings clearly indicate that this issue is not marginal in Polish firms. On the contrary, it is deeply rooted in Polish workplaces. Employees’ fear of reporting problems, lack of effective procedures, and low awareness among workers create favourable conditions for this phenomenon to persist and develop. Among other problems in Polish work culture, experts point to overwork, limited support systems for employees on civil law contracts, and various dimensions of discrimination, including discrimination against women. The transition to a cultural work model also presents new challenges for organisational culture.
It can be argued that without systematic analysis and changes implemented through public policies, changes will not be sufficiently dynamic. As researchers suggest, adaptation of the Ethical Climate Questionnaire in the Polish context will enable more research on ethical climate in Polish organisations.
The Polish questionnaire
The research took the form of a cross-sectional survey and was conducted on two samples of employees working in various companies in Poland, with nearly 1,600 employees participating in total.
The study showed that when employees feel that a company is primarily guided by its own interests (instrumental climate), they are less satisfied with their work. Specifically, they find it harder to find meaning in their work, experience more stress and think more often about changing jobs. Meanwhile, the other types of climate – when the company cares for employees (caring climate), adheres to clear internal rules (rules climate), respects external law (law and codes climate) or respects employees’ individual values (independence climate) – positively affect employees’ wellbeing.
Interestingly, in large companies, employees less frequently feel that the company cares about them or respects their individual values. Instead, they perceive more rigid rules, regulations and an approach primarily focused on the organisation’s interests. Despite certain limitations of the study (such as the lack of preliminary tests or a relatively homogeneous study group), the authors conclude that the prepared Polish version of the questionnaire works well in studying ethical climate in Polish organisations.
More:
- Wnuk, M., Czerw, A., Żywiołek-Szeja, M. et al. The Polish version of the Ethical Climate Questionnaire. Sci Rep 15, 8899 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-93990-7
- Victor, B., & Cullen, J. B. (1988). The organizational bases of ethical work climates. Administrative Science Quarterly, 33(1), 101–125. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392857
- M. Myśliwiec, Mobbing, czyli przemoc w środowisku pracy, “Godność ma swoje imię”, https://www.godnoscmaswojeimie.pl
