Another career question from the interwebs.
Laurie, a coworker just told me she’s doing really unethical stuff. Do I report it, anonymously report it, or ignore it? I want what she’s doing to stop but I don’t want anything to do with it. And I’m actively job hunting for something else.
This is the kind of questions that was asked during the 2008 financial crisis and no one answered it properly. So let me take a stab.
Tell her to stop. Tell her you’re offended. Tell her to knock it off.
That’s the first step.
Peer pressure kills unethical behavior. It’s your obligation as an adult and a colleague to speak with her and tell her to stop behaving like an asshole. But we live in a passive-aggressive society and we expect other people to solve our problems or take care of issues like this — and that’s why six people in NYC can ruin a financial system and destroy the wealth that was built over a hundred years by middle-class workers in America.
Speak up, dear reader. Talk to your co-worker.
But it sounds like that window of opportunity is lost. So option #2? Report it.
I don’t care if you report it anonymously. I don’t care if you stick a note under the door of your boss. I don’t if you rent a billboard. Just report it. But do me a favor and tell two people — your boss and the CEO, your boss and her boss, your boss and the CFO — to create a situation where someone in the chain of command must have a conversation about it with another person.
Christ. Can’t you people behave yourselves at work?
33 comments ...wanna add one?
I did that once at an airline I worked for. They were doing unlawful and dangerous things in their Maintenance program to save money. I reported it to management and to the FAA. Turns out the people I reported the issues to were part of the problem. Guess who was unemployed for five months after that?
A year later, they went into Chapter 7. I was never so happy to see a company fail.
I know. Reporting comes with such a burden. That’s life, right?
I’m glad they failed!
We do know that the “friend” is not a friend as they have made the person an accomplice in the eyes of the corporation if she doesn’t report it. Obviously, there is more to the story than meets the eye if the person is trying to get out of the company.
Well, maybe not. Maybe the environment sucks so much she is fleeing. Also, my #1 piece of advice is always ‘LOOK FOR ANOTHER JOB’ so maybe she was being proactive.
And they say companies don’t retaliate..#horsesh!t. Laurie is right, do something, and be prepared for anything.
They do. The key is to report it in the most anonymous way if this is really a concern.
Yeah, I would be very worried about my own arse for not reporting it. CYA, as they say!
Exactly.
Again Laurie – Nice Post!
Interesting timing. Our team conversed today on our Code of Ethics, and how, while we were not rejecting a Request for Proposal, we were, following our code of ethics, responding with a proposal for a very focused tactical part of the request and in open and plain language telling the prospect why we chose not to propose the entire project.
As the CEO, it is clearly part of my job to protect the image of the company. The best way to do that – really the only way – is to assure that the code of ethics is clearly understood by the team, and followed by the team. Any competent CEO does that. Now – I am not sure what the other 80% of the CEO’s do (not so subtle of a slap).
Most public companies have a ethics compliance program in place. Kind of part of that PITA called SarBox. So, about 10% of all of the companies out there have a program.
Tell two people – that is a good tip. Chief Legal Counsel is another tip – if you are worried about your boss being part of the problem.
Oh man SOX (sarbox) is such a PITA — true. Legal counsel is 100% right.
I was looking for a new job after I found that stuff out anyway. I had no desire to have innocent blood on my hands. Only luck kept them from killing a 767 full of people.
JEsus.
Report it, report it, report it! They are going to come after you if they find out from someone else and know that you knew because every executive team wants a fall guy/gal. Cover your ass, first rule of business. Start taking notes now with names and dates. I do that just in my regular HR duties. Too much shiznit can come back to haunt.
I am CYA queen. Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t out to get you.
Absolutely report it and document what you do. Protect yourself against possible retailation. That would be a headache but doing the right thing is worth it.
Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.
— Mark Twain
Love that quote.
Great post! My response includes.
1. Don’t report it. Seems like the ‘he said, she said’ (without any supporting evidence). You should be suspicious why the coworker confided in you unless you’re the designated corporate priest.
2. Talk to the colleague.
3. Investigate the matter and quickly gather enough hard evidence until you can state without doubt something unethical is going on and who is involved.
4. Most companies have an ethics hotline and a ‘whistle blower’ policy. Follow the procedures. And if you’re in a publicly traded company then SOX (Sarbanes-Oxley Act) section 404 will be of help.
5. If you’re hesitant to put your name then try floating the message through the corporate grapevine. Just get the message out directly or indirectly so that your conscience is clear.
Remember that being silent about an unethical act makes you abettor.
Word. And good use of the word abettor. Points for that one.
Unethical behavior from one person rarely exists in a vaccum. The unethical person usually is protected by either loose policy or someone high up in the food chain whose own behavior is questionable. Either way, upsetting the apple cart can have consequences.
But two cliches apply here: 1-What goes around comes around; and the higher you climb, the further you fall. Once you know of the behavior, you become complicit, and the consequences of THAT are much greater.
I have lost jobs 3 times, yes 3 times, for not tolerating unethical behavior. But the people I reported are in jail. And I can sleep knowing I was not part of their schemes.
Wow, that’s some drama. I thought you were a painter and a cat lover. Did the kitties fire you? (Just kidding. Seriously, I know you dealt with crazy shit in your career. I’m glad you have standards.)
That’s why I make art my exclusive career now. Brewskie does end up in Time Out in the bathroom sometimes, but no jail time for him YET.
How interesting that an ex-pharmaceutical HR person asks such a question. Pharma HR routinely supports management in the persecution of whistleblowers and the identification of potential ones – there are plenty of case histories along those lines: the Pharma Giles blog wouldn’t exist without them!
I suspect your “confidee” is being set up, either way…
The idea that peer pressure kills unethcial behaviour is complete and utter rubbish. It is peer pressure that fosters and encourages it.
Peer pressure can swing both aways. I have seen situations in which unethical behavior stopped because some called it out. It was successful when a senior or more experienced peer called it out or disapproved of the behavior before it got going.
Giles is cynical — and rightly so. We shouldn’t naively assume that companies care about unethical behaviors. It’s often cheaper to pay a fine that fix problems. He knows this.
In the past, I have worked on an audit team that focused upon sales process improvements and identify abuse & fraud. I have seen plenty to be cynical about. But also have employees that were cynical because they assumed that due process and confidentiality was a cover-up.
If a situation was serious enough, our corporate security would turn it over to the FBI. If you bring in the FBI, you want your i’s dotted and your t’s crossed.
I was just going to write that peer pressure cuts both ways and then someone else wrote it.
And you should know — based on helicopters — that I’m not speaking naively about this.
As we say in the aviation biz, “Keep one hand on the ejection seat lever” when reporting anything to management. All too often, you find that it’s easiest for them to solve the problem by killing the messenger. And so it goes. In my case, lives could have been at risk. I’d rather be able to look myself in the eye when I shave, rather than want to slit my throat. Unfortunately, at least two of those guilty parties are still in aviation maintenance positions of great responsibility. Needless to say, I keep up on their employment and avoid those airlines.
Which airlines are they with?
I once addressed my boss’ (the owner) unethical and contract violating actions with payrole… got my ass fired!
One is now with an aviation consulting company. The other one I have temporarily lost track of.
What if your boss is asking you to do something unethical? It happened to me and I confronted him (as nicely and meekly as possible) and was berated and screamed at for almost 2 hrs. His response: “If you don’t want to do what I tell you to do then you shouldn’t be working here”. Guess what? Within 6 mos I was laid off…… My mistake was that I didn’t immediately go to HR or to upper management but I was afraid of repercussions. Note: the unethical request he made did not involve anyone outside of the organization – it was all internal – but still unethical and I was not comfortable with it.
I just turned in a co-worker and I’m freaking out now because I have to go to work tomorrow. We are police dispatchers and she took a pic of the state computer and emailed it. She is one vindictive B***H. I’m an older woman and I am nervous. I work with her and one other woman eight hrs a day. I will have to watch my P’s and Q’s around her.
I’ve been trying to call my boss to find out what’s up and she is not answering my emails or calls……
good luck