Archive for August, 2016
Your Ethics Can Get You Fired
Maintaining a positive reputation at work means that sometimes you don’t speak up when something’s wrong. We all know the sayings, “don’t rock the boat” and “pick your battles.” When the issue goes beyond a gray area, or a slight bending of the rules of the employee handbook, you’re in a tough position.
Several years ago I had a conversation with two mid-career lawyers about sexual harassment in the workplace. Both of them said that they would not tell their firm’s HR department or file a complaint if they were sexually harassed. They were sure that they would be fired in retaliation and black balled in the legal community, preventing them from getting a new job in their field.
I asked what they thought about the moral obligation to report issues like this. Because if nobody takes a stand against harassment and discrimination crimes, then they will keep happening, both to the current victim and others. The two lawyers didn’t hesitate to say they wouldn’t ruin their careers over it.
Over the years I’ve heard many variations of that conversation, but this stood out because the people were lawyers. They understand the law, their rights, and the process to seek justice if wrongfully terminated.
They also understood the personal consequences of reporting a crime and decided it isn’t worth it.
That’s bleak, and probably why we admire some whistleblowers who expose large scale crimes in their workplaces. Calling out illegal activity is a huge personal risk. Up until the point when whistleblowers are national heroes talked about in the media, they might be considered by their company’s peers and managers to be rats, tattlers, trouble makers, whiners, complainers, and ungrateful losers who should have been happy they had jobs in the first place.
They might be called all of those things and also be freshly unemployed. With a bad reputation that makes it difficult to be hired elsewhere.
Other people told me stories about being instructed by their managers to lie to investigators about crimes they witnessed. One man admitted that he lied under oath in trial court because his supervisor demanded that he do so or else lose his job.
Where do you draw the line between self-preservation and ethics?
I’m guessing most of us think we would make the ethical choice if we were in situations like that. But when people are actually in a position to lose their livelihoods, I doubt it is such an obvious decision.
I’m glad there are some people brave enough to sacrifice their personal wellbeing to stand up to workplace crimes.
Look Two Lanes Over
You know when you’re driving on a multi-lane freeway and you want to change lanes? Every once in a while when you’re moving into a center lane, someone on the far side of it wants to enter that lane, too. Hopefully both of you aren’t just looking to see if the center lane is clear, but also checking the lane on the other side of it for this very reason.
This analogy is great for a lot of work problems, too.
For example, if a coworker is being a jerk and it is impacting your project, what’s on the other side of his lane? Is he insecure about his standing in the team, or having a personal problem? If you can see both the bad behavior and what’s contributing to it, it might help you figure out better tactics to deal with it. Better than ramming him out of your lane, anyway!
Another time at work when it is critical to look two lanes over is when you’re applying for a new role. Your immediate supervisor might be the kindest, most supportive champion you’ve ever reported to, but that can come to a screeching halt in an instant.
Your great manager may quit: I know many people who took interesting jobs reporting to wonderful managers only to have those managers quit within weeks. Then the new managers didn’t like the staff that they inherited and/or completely changed their staff’s responsibilities.
Even if your great new manager stays, if the person they report to isn’t a fan of your work you are in a precarious position. As much as possible, find out what your potential manager’s manager is like. Ask questions during the interview about how long that person has been in the role, what their style is, and how involved they are in the team’s projects.
To avoid catastrophes, look where you’re going. Then look past where you’re going to see if the road is clear.
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