The question of ethics is perhaps one of the hardest, and most abstract, exercises of decision making. Though many decisions in the workplace lack a clear framework or right/wrong answer (i.e. should this feature be included in launch? which team should I join? etc.), the stakes of ethics questions are different in that they lie on a completely different dimension — no longer is the question about your efficiency or effectiveness as an employee or your intellect, but rather your character and your values, which is much much more personal. Ethics problems are also unique in that the immediate, measurable outcome of ignoring them is quite low. Take Susan’s situation in this case study as an example. Susan takes the easy road, listens to her father’s advice, and follows the instructions of her boss. The outcome is great! She’s successfully impressed her higher-ups and completed her first internship task. But the ramifications of this decision are sneaky. Susan stays up late anxious about these companies exposing her lies about her identity. She mulls over her decision over and over; she asks herself if it was the right one. In the best case scenario, no one finds her out. She forgets about the dilemma, and enjoys no consequences. Her ethical conduct bar is implicitly lowered, setting herself up to make more and more lenient decisions in the future. In the worst case scenario, her company’s competitors catch on to her — she risks the reputation of her company, but more importantly, she risks the reputation of herself. It’s her name, and her school address, that’s attached to those emails. And she’ll be left with this growing lump of regret in her stomach knowing that she didn’t follow her gut.
Susan can empower herself with a plan! She can talk to other interns or her intern manager and gather if others at the company feel similarly. She can practice what she wants to say, and how to deliver her concerns in a way that she can still complete the necessary task, such as offering alternative solutions. She can use collaborate rather than challenging language. And lastly, if she times this conversation well and delivers her points with swag, she could earn more brownie points than she knows for having a backbone and sticking to her values in the eyes of her employer!
