2026 Code of Conduct Report

The culture behind the code: Turning standards into everyday decisions

The 2026 Report reveals a growing gap between formal code adoption and everyday usefulness. While codes are widely acknowledged and traditional risk topics are well covered, many employees still struggle to navigate them, find practical guidance, and apply them to emerging issues such as artificial intelligence.

Drawing from an analysis of over 1,000 codes of conduct and survey data from 2,000 full-time employees across 15 countries and 16 industries, the report explores how organisations design and deploy their codes, how employees experience them, and what makes a code a practical resource for everyday decisions.

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Key findings from this year’s report include:

Everyday engagement is declining: 63% of employees have used their code as a workplace resource, down from 70% in 2025.
Practical guidance falls short: 24% say their code is too long or difficult to navigate, while fewer than one-third of codes include scenario-based questions and answers.
AI remains largely absent: Only 9% of analysed codes explicitly address AI or technology ethics, leaving employees with limited guidance on one of today’s fastest-evolving workplace risks.
Manager reinforcement and speak-up confidence are slipping: 61% of employees say their manager talks about the code, while only 66% feel confident they can report misconduct without retaliation.