The Risk of Staying Silent

Staying silent about something that doesn’t align with your values is a moral and psychological battle. As an intern, there’s an inherent hierarchical dynamic where you might defer to your team’s ideas because they have more experience. The risk of staying silent is significant: you compromise your own values and conform to unethical practices because it’s easier. Over time, this erodes integrity and even sort of defines your career by convenience rather than character.

The Risk of Speaking Up

The risks of speaking up are real, too. You could create tension with your boss, be seen as difficult, or not someone who values being a team player, or even lose your job. That said, it’s important to approach speaking up with intention, meaning being able to first acknowledge that it’s valid to feel discomfort, but that it’s possible to channel that discomfort into growth. An approach to consider is to frame concerns more as questions so that you can hear the perspective of the person you’re raising this concern to, and come off less as an accusation. Being prepared with a plan is also a good idea and can underscore a stronger, more valid stance that is backed by alternative solutions.