Q. Too Sensitive for My Job?: I have more than 10 years of experience working in human resources. Recently, I’ve been working in an HR position at a relatively small company, where there is not much structure. I’ve been feeling increasing pressure to do things that are out of my comfort zone. These are things that are questionable morally, as well as legally, but I am told that “they happen all the time in the business world.” If I try to question anything, this is seen as a challenge by my manager. I’m then met with her wrath—yelling, berating me, threats of being fired, and snide comments to the point of making me cry. Several people have said that this is just how businesses work. Is this something I need to just get used to as a subordinate, and start keeping my mouth shut? Or do I have a right to be upset by the things I deal with? Am I just too sensitive for this line of work?
A: Checklists are all the rage for making sure the basics get covered at a workplace, so see if this one sounds like your company: Embezzling—check; back-dating documents—check; lying to clients and employees—check. If so, here’s the one item that should be on your personal checklist: Find another job. You say you have more than a decade of experience in your field and for the first time you are working at a place where things are done in a manner you’ve never encountered. That should signal to you that not the way businesses work, it’s the way your company works. It sounds dangerous for you legally and emotionally. While you get your résumé out there, make sure you stay within the proper side of the law, no matter what your boss screams at you.
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The Principle of Least Interest: He who cares least about a relationship, controls it.
Q. Re: Too Sensitive for My Job?: The original letter writer should document and keep records of everything sketchy that she is asked to do. Write a note, date it, print it, put it in a file. Send your supervisors emails asking to confirm instructions whenever you can. If you can, document your objections. Print it and save it in your file. If these practices ever come to light, these people will lie to try to save their own behinds, and you will be left holding the bag, or hanging along with them. And find a new job as soon as you can.
A: Good advice, thanks. And yes, the thing she should focus on is getting out of that asylum.
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The Principle of Least Interest: He who cares least about a relationship, controls it.
Well, if you are doing something illegal you may be implicating yourself as well. If you know something is wrong and you do it, you are wrong. Doesn't matter what your boss said. So you better be careful about implicating yourself. My first question as a lawyer would be "If you knew it was wrong and you were going to take the time to document it was wrong, then why did you participate in wrongdoing rather than say No or walk off the job"?
And my answer would be "because I had mouths to feed at home and I was already looking for another job...so until I found one, I needed to buy groceries and pay the mortgage. Getting fired wouldn't help me find another job, so I mitigated the risks as best I could at the time".
I don't think a jury would find fault in that.
The advice in the OP was good. Get out as soon as possible.
-- Edited by Mellow Momma on Tuesday 20th of January 2015 05:31:44 PM
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Out of all the lies I have told, "just kidding" is my favorite !
Oh, I disagree. A jury would absolutely find fault with it. That's the funny thing about morals, the only time they really matter is when you actually have to use them. If you have to quit your job, then you quit your job.
Oh, I disagree. A jury would absolutely find fault with it. That's the funny thing about morals, the only time they really matter is when you actually have to use them. If you have to quit your job, then you quit your job.
If I needed the job to feed my family, I would not quit until I had other employment. I would try and mitigate my responsibility as much as possible and I would not do something that caused direct harm to someone else. I would do what I had to do to keep my children off the street and off of welfare though. Not to mention that quitting a job without having another one is bad for your resume.
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Out of all the lies I have told, "just kidding" is my favorite !
I know what you are saying. And I agree to a point. But if quitting meant I couldn't pay my bills, I would stay until I found something else. It's irresponsible to quit without having something else lined up. You could be out of the market for a long time. That isn't going to keep the lights on.
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Out of all the lies I have told, "just kidding" is my favorite !
It is irresponsible to quit work but not irresponsible to continue in possible illegal activity?
Good to know.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
If this person said they quit their job because something at work didn't seem right and didn't have another job so she was on welfare now...you would all be crapping your pants about how she was sucking off the government teat.
I am just saying get out and get another job before you quit.
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Out of all the lies I have told, "just kidding" is my favorite !
You can make all the excuses in the world. What you do when your back is up against the wall is what you truly believe. And, it's somehow OK for you to break the law or do wrong doing because you are middle class and have to feed your family but not for the corporate exec? Well, your lifestyle might look pretty sweet to a lot of juries too and you may consider yourself middle class or whatever but a jury make consider you the upper elite or whatever. There have been times I have flat out refused to do things at my job. Nothing rising to that level but if I felt strongly something was unsafe or whatever, then I guess they would have had to fire me. Standing for your principles is only standing for your principles when you are in fact prepared to lose something over it, your job, your paycheck, your life. Otherwise, you really don't believe what you profess to believe if you back down and cave in tough circumstances.
So this same person is arrested and convicted of whatever criminal activity that she continued in while looking for another job and that leaves her kids where?
And what example is that setting for the kids? Illegal is ok if you have a good enough reason?
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
If this person said they quit their job because something at work didn't seem right and didn't have another job so she was on welfare now...you would all be crapping your pants about how she was sucking off the government teat.
I am just saying get out and get another job before you quit.
If I quit my job I have to be on welfare? Um, no I don't. I have saved money. I have lived below my means. I can survive till I get another job because I have lived responsibly. Living responsibly gives you options. So, yeah, I would find another job. Even if I was bagging groceries.
I would rather be on welfare than in jail. Just saying.
Either way, the government is going to support her kids. Not being in jail she at least has an opportunity to get another job.
Straight up, if my boss asked me to do something illegal, I would walkout the door. Without a second thought...
I would too O4.
I would rather not go to jail.
Now before I had kids I might have answered that differently. But I will never do anything to jeopardize my kids or our well being.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
And I didn't see anything that said she was worried about a family.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
I've worked for some pretty scummy people, but I've never seen them doing anything that was DEFINITELY illegal. Immoral, yes.
Once, I worked with a guy who was carefully bribing a few surgeons ...
He went to jail a couple of years later.
I've certainly seen people take shortcuts that were unethical and could have put patients at risk, to shore up the bottom line,
or to make a quota. One company would sometimes have a 35 day sales month to pull in sales dollars and meet a quarterly quota.
The managers figured that was necessary to keep their jobs.
I learned about a LOT of funny stuff at that company just after the parent company shut down part of the operation and sold off the rest. It was definitely educational.
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The Principle of Least Interest: He who cares least about a relationship, controls it.
When I was let go I applied for unemployment. After filling out the online form and sitting an hour waiting my turn to talk to someone, I was taken into an office and basically told to lie, told how to lie and given instructions on how to fill out the lies on the forms I would need to turn weekly.
Then I was asked to sign a paper stating that I understood my rights a lying on these papers could and would land me in prison.
I was told that was the only way I could get the unemployment.
I said no thank you and left.
No way was I going to do that. And all I could think was what example would I be for my kids.
No. I won't teach my kids one thing and do the exact opposite.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
