Can't do the Ethical Thing at Work?
I coached a client through an iniquitous work situation, let’s call her Beth. She analyzes data, numbers, and money. There were ‘asks’ and increasing pressure from management that she was uncomfortable completing. She felt like her ethics were being challenged.
Now Beth always enjoyed her job, her team, and the company she worked for. She’s an ambitious self-starter who always completed her job with 500% quality and effort. However, she recently got a new manager who took credit for the team’s work, wanted Beth to manipulate the data and sign off on documents that didn’t reflect reality.
Beth felt sick going to work every day. She couldn’t bring herself to complete the work. Beth struggled with doing the right thing. She doesn’t normally speak up, but she couldn’t bear to complete the work as she struggled with her integrity versus insubordination.
By the time we started working together, she was ACTUALLY sick. Her doctor already suggested that she take a medical leave of absence - which she refused to do and she wanted to quit because going to work literally gave her pains throughout her body. You can see that she was clearly torn and couldn’t bring herself to walk away from her job. She struggled with quitting because she didn’t want to explain a gap in her employment to her next employer.
“If ethics are poor at the top, that behaviour is copied down through the organization.” Robert Noyce
Even though Beth was financially able to resign she choose to struggle physically and mentally as her non-negotiable option was to stay with her current employer until she found another job.
When I help professionals deal with very difficult workplace situations, a common question I get asked is, “when should I quit/leave?”. This is such a personal question that only you have the answer to. Why you ask? Because there are so many factors to consider.
In Beth’s case, she would rather tolerate a toxic environment until she found a new job. After she shared with me her struggles, we discovered coping strategies that helped her to interact with senior management in a way that would allow her to get her work done without compromising her ethics.
Here are some questions to reflect on when you feel like you need to quit your job because your ethics are being challenged:
List all the work events that have led you to the point of quitting. What themes do you notice?
What are you willing to tolerate (in your work environment and behaviours of others)?
How are you feeling physically?
How are you feeling mentally?
How are you feeling emotionally?
What are some strategies to cope with how you’re feeling?
How much of a financial cushion do you have if you were to actually quit your job?
What’s your exit strategy?
Bottom line: it is YOU who needs to take action - even if you’ve gathered advice from others. You know yourself and your situation better than anyone else.
Remember: There are no guarantees in life. Even if you love your current work situation anything can happen that may change your career trajectory. And that’s OK! There are many things that are under your control. Embrace them and take action!
There’s always a choice - whether or not you are willing to take it. Remember that there will always be a risk. What information do you need to gather to make an informed decision?