I’ll respond from the perspective of myself when answering the question of what I would risking when mentioning an ethically-dubious task or speaking up to my boss. There are many ways this could go, and superficially, I may be risking my employment and future with the company at worst. But, on a deeper level, if I didn’t speak up about a clear ethical violation, I would be risking my own morals and values which should be fixed no matter what environment I am in. If I were to look the other way this time, there is no guarantee I would continue to look the right way in any other ethically dubious situations in the future.
On the other hand, I may not be risking much – depending on the organization and its values. Speaking up to one’s boss has a negative general connotation and is often viewed as unfavourable. However, if the organization has a whole prides itself on values of transparency and ethics (and evidentially walks the talk), then it may in fact reflect positively on me if I spoke up. In other words, my manager could be accepting or even impressed by my courage to speak up under a circumstance with assumedly competing interests. In terms of lessening the social threat, I think having 1:1 conversations with other employees to make them aware of my doubts can lessen any potential fallout if things were to go awry. Lastly, making a plan with specific points or issues I have instead of a disconnected stream of consciousness would result in a message that would be better received by my manager.
