From my own perspective, I will be risking, at the very least, my first impressions as hard to work with when I choose to speak up to my boss. I can also be risking my internship and potentially a full-time job offer if the situation further exacerbates. On the other hand, if I choose to accept the ethically dubious task, I am risking my work ethics from day one and that could be exaggerated into a notorious reputation for both myself and the company I work with as a whole. It seems like it should be an easy choice for me when I put the two scenarios like that. However, in reality, I’m likely to go through the same mental struggles like the intern in the case study, especially given the current job market and my visa issues as an international student.
If the intern were to follow the 3-step plan from How to Speak Up When It Matters, she could:
1. Harmonize her inner voices by being honest with herself. Recognize how psychologically difficult speaking up can be, but how important it can be at the same time.
2. Work to lessen the social threat that speaking up creates by conveying her thoughts genuinely and positively. Make it clear that she is not challenging the current approach, but intend to make it even better. Involve other people on the team (her manager, HR, etc) by making them realize it is also personally relevant to them and the institution as a whole.
3. Instead of just communicate ideas centered around personal preference, suggest actionable alternative workaround. She could also mention some initial attempts she carried out with the alternative workaround to be more persuasive.
