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Ethics in the workplace
Hello Friends,
Today was a hard day but then the past few weeks have been hard for the same reason: My job (in recruitment) constantly sees me confronted with all sorts of questions concerning ethics and I find it wears me down somewhat.
As an example, in the space of a week I have dealt with the following:
A member of staff being accused of sexual harassment
A client openly lying to me
A client trying to con me
A client calling me a bitch (!) LOUDLY
A member of staff turning up for a catering assignment and introducing himself as a carpenter
(inspires REAL confidence, that does!)
Someone who won't pay but keeps evading the subject
An uncomfortable conversation with a guy who was mistreated as a youth and fired for being drunk and disorderly only 2 years ago - and who wants me to give him a chance
A temp's alcoholic past
A candidate who wanted to tell me about the history of his schizo-affective disorder in the interest of transparency and how he hoped I would still be interested in him as an employee
I want to give everyone a chance but to be good at my job I can't. And then came a realisation I really hate and seemingly will do anything to avoid - that perhaps not everyone is a gleaming pearl underneath.
My entire worldview depends on me seeing good in others.
I find this a bind being compromised in this way.
Today was a hard day but then the past few weeks have been hard for the same reason: My job (in recruitment) constantly sees me confronted with all sorts of questions concerning ethics and I find it wears me down somewhat.
As an example, in the space of a week I have dealt with the following:
A member of staff being accused of sexual harassment
A client openly lying to me
A client trying to con me
A client calling me a bitch (!) LOUDLY
A member of staff turning up for a catering assignment and introducing himself as a carpenter
(inspires REAL confidence, that does!)Someone who won't pay but keeps evading the subject
An uncomfortable conversation with a guy who was mistreated as a youth and fired for being drunk and disorderly only 2 years ago - and who wants me to give him a chance
A temp's alcoholic past
A candidate who wanted to tell me about the history of his schizo-affective disorder in the interest of transparency and how he hoped I would still be interested in him as an employee
I want to give everyone a chance but to be good at my job I can't. And then came a realisation I really hate and seemingly will do anything to avoid - that perhaps not everyone is a gleaming pearl underneath.
My entire worldview depends on me seeing good in others.
I find this a bind being compromised in this way.
0
Comments
Well once I'd posted this last night I realised my view IS narrow.
If they're not good for me I am not invalidating them as people - you may have hit on something here MoC
Even my partner stated to someone the other day, "The thing about Fede is that she sees the good in others, whereas I am far more cynical and realistic...."
Realistic.
Implying that my view is unreal, imaginary and complete make-believe.
THERE is good in others.
Unfortunately, due to the circumstances we usually find ourselves faced with, we rarely have the time or opportunity to find and expose it.
Give us a week or so with everyone and we'll show you we're right.
It's just easier and less effort for everyone to hide it, because the consensus of opinion seems to be that acting like a bonehead will get better results and make us more memorable, more forceful, less easy to refuse.
It's all about what people believe they need to do or say, to validate who they are.
mouthfulofclay is right. It could well be the case that they're just being right royal pains in the arse, where you work.
But you know - that's the only time you get to see them.
Recruitment - during these times - is a stinker of a job, because during these times - there's precious little recruitment going on.
Trying, desperate and difficult times for many.
That's the pain coming through I guess.
Everyone IS a gleaming pearl underneath.
You just have to prise the shell open and reveal it.
And damn, those little shells can be stubborn little buggers.....
And time is not on your side.
Write that on your desk.
"I can see and find the good in others. It's just that Time is not on my side".
Which is not the same as saying - "I don't have the time to do it"......;)
Palzang
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5Ckmh%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> I would have to respectfully disagree. The majority of us spend more waking hours at the job than at home. If you just start throwing people together that are strongly willed towards their own views and opinions then trouble will eventually rise. As far as the past goes, this is really irrelevant in my opinion mainly because that is the past and doesn’t really have a bearing on the present. Such as the “temp's alcoholic past”. As long as its behind them than its all good. But it is essential for all co-workers to be agreeable with one another to a specific extent for the over all wellbeing of the job place. A good manager and employer does not just look at qualifications but, also looks for qualities that he/she feel would fit in well with the rest of the workers. I have worked for many companies that have tried to get to know you and many that do not. The general job expectancy of the latter was a few months at best.
I guess you have to ask - where is the line between what your beliefs teach you - and getting royaly screwed over by whatever portion of the world does not hold similar morals, ethics or beliefs ....
For instance - both in Hinduism and in Buddhism im taught tolerance... be tolerant of all - especially those who lash out and abuse - because they are attached to their material bodies and this temporary material world and its pleasures - and so - whether they know it or not - they are in pain...
im taught to be tolerant like a tree - to bend with whatever comes my way... to return anger with kindness etc... and thats great - but what about when people are hell bent on making my life miserable, or even trying to get me fired ? should i still do nothing ? should i still return their abuse and hate with kindness ??
I think the answer is to be tolerant and kind and forgiving and non violant... but not at the expense of your physical well being... i think that if someone is jeapordizing your career, health, or threatening or abusing you in any way... you have to stop it ... its not possible just to accept or to do nothing...
I think that you can act when these things are going on... but you can do it in the spirit of non violance and non confrontation and also in the spirit of Buddhas teachings by doing only the minimum in order to achieve the neccesarry result but with as little harm to the person involved...
for instance... the client calling you a bitch... you can speak with her, explain that her behaviour is not acceptable... you can be calm and tolerant and patient and kind to her.. but make it clear that her manner is not acceptable on a proffesional level... if neccesarry speak with her boss.... do the minimum... you get me - if talking doesnt work - go to the next level...
same with the guy that wont pay - talk with him first... be polite and calm and patient ... speak with him nicely - no matter how annoyed you may be with him... then if that doesnt work go to the relevant authority .. and if that doenst work - sue him....
and the violant guy that wants a job - give him a chance - people do change... but make it clear its his last and only one ... help him as much as you can without putting at risk your job ... but dont take responsibility for your actions
does that make sense ?? when it comes to confrontation - always do the minimum... when it comes to helping someone, understanding thier problems - do the maximum you can but without endangering yourself or your liveliehood...
ive probably put this really badly but i hope you get what i mean... it is a difficult one do...
Palzang
Sara,
To return to your initial post, there is a genuine question for job applicants who have some form of 'hidden' disability. This is the case with my wife Sarah who has been diagnosed with Complex PTSD - a disability under the terms of the Act but not when it comes to benefit support!
I raised the question in our carers' group: should she reveal her condition to a potential employer at interview? It was troubling her as a person who values truth and honesty - and was looking for a job at the time.
I have to say that opinions among the dozen of us, all carers of people using the mental health services, were almost equally divided.
What would you opinion be?
I think my position would be, is this disorder likely to interfere with the performance of my job in any significant way? More than, say a bout of the flu, or pregnancy that might have me missing days of work with various test etc.?
If the answer to that question is no, then I think the information should not be shared, but if the answer is yes, and your wife could be missing from work several days a month on a regular basis, then perhaps in that case she should reveal it.
As an employer my interest is in productivity, and anything that adversely affects that, concerns me. Normal sickness, absence and vacation is expected, and if your wife's disorder sorta falls into that category, I would not expect her to disclose that.
Great points that resonate completely with me Fede.
Thank you for the food for thought.
Very very hard.
If you are a threat to others I would say, no way. If you are a threat to your own well-being when not being supervised then again, no way.
But like with a chap who called me yesterday and explained he'd spent the 90s in and out of hospital with bipolar and would the 10 year career gap affect his chances of employment with my agency... My answer was OK, be clear with me and get me letters (from your doctor) telling me when you were last considered as not able to function adequately enough to be out of hospital and independant... and then we'll say no more about it.
When he told me he had some mental illness in his past my reply was "oh find me someone who hasn't". I don't think he'd heard that from many other agencies
I recently spent some time thinking about this topic. I'm on meds for anxiety for the first time and I JUST started on them before the new school year began. At my first checkup we still weren't sure this was going to be the right medication, but would give it a few more weeks.
Long story short, I decided that if things were going okay, then there would be no reason for my employer to know. However, if I changed meds and it started to affect my performance, especially if I got severely depressed as a side effect, I decided it would be best to tell my boss. I'd rather she know that I was "sick" from anxiety meds, and that it would be remedied shortly if it started affecting my job.
However, I think this decision is personal. I wanted to feel good about my decision at the end of the day AND protect my privacy AND get the support I needed (if I needed it) from work. Plus you have to judge your boss and what kind of brilliant reaction they might have. Ultimately, you don't HAVE to disclose and your job is probably safer if you don't. Well, I don't know... there might be specific jobs out there in which you do have to disclose, but mostly you don't. ;-)
In a flash I had a moment of lucidity and thought "you know what, any bugger could be sat here now in perfect health, ticking all the boxes. Then one day maybe his wife'd walk and he could have a depression or full-on breakdown or something..." So i ticked no in all the boxes and had done with it
My hands were somewhat tied by upper management, so I unfortunately had to grudgingly accept the fact that I couldn't fire as many people as I thought should have been. Had I been in the saddle for my company, I would have been far more ruthless than they were. I mean let's face it, in a bad economy where people are desperate to find work, there's no excuse for not having the most capable people working for you. There's no time for slackers and cheaters. They should simply be fired.
Haha. That's my two hard-earned cents anyway.
My two cents: I firmly believe that good leaders inspire us to be our best. Including at work. They also hold us accountable.
We're doing this program at work right now that is focused on our "15%ers." The idea is that 80% of students/people do what they are supposed to all of the time, 5% are rebels by personality (the ones that require seemingly endless patience). And the 15% in the middle are going to hang out with whoever is having the most fun. Do you want to have 80% or 95% of your staff/students doing the things you expect? Do you want to be disciplining 5% or 20%? The more fun you can make it to "do the right thing" the easier and more pleasant your life will be as the person in charge.
We just started, so we'll see how well it works. I personally think it should be great.
I agree. Which is why I thought (and still think) that holding people accountable entails firing them if they're incompetent and lazy, or trying to cheat you out of money.
As a manager, I can only make painting a wall so much fun. The way I see it is this; I'm paying you to do a certain job. I don't promise that it will be fun, because it usually isn't. If you work hard and show that you have a good work ethic, you will likely be promoted in the near future. If that's not motivation enough for you to at least pretend like you're being competent, then I'll find somebody more qualified.
KoB, I think this gets into work culture now. I think knowing what you sell to your employees counts. Is your office always the best because you work hard? Is your office always fun because you provide lots of incentives? Is your office always laid back, because you accept people how they are no matter what? You have to find your niche in order to find your employees. It's important to know who your company is, personality-wise. If you or employees don't fit, you probably won't be happy or be "successful."
Unfortunately, in the public school system, we can't/don't just fire students who are lazy OR incompetent. So we resort to having fun to get them engaged. Darn!
All that said, I would like to add... and this was my original point somewhere back there... If painting a wall is damn boring and the person doing it is just miserable because it's hot, they're underpaid and no one has said a kind word to them since they started this job, threatening to fire them doesn't seem so bad.
Trust me, they weren't underpaid. It's the best paying job someone that age can get, which is why it irked me how unappreciative they were. They were just lazy, chronic cheaters. I can only do so much to fix a person's poor work ethic.
Some people believe that people get more than they deserve and others see a lot of people carrying heavy burdens that could really stand some lightening.
Put me the camp of those who believe that people deserve better than they get.