Ethical Scenario #2

[Callypigia]

Here is another little ethical scenario:

You are a supervisor of a team of 10 people. Your boss calls you into his office and tells you the quarterly budget wasn't looking good and there may be lay-offs. He asks you to give him the names of three of your employees that you need let go by the end of the work week. He also tells you, because moral is already low and it isn't 100% certain there will be lay-offs, not to tell anyone; in order to keep productivity as high as possible to prevent more budget decreases that could result in more loss of jobs. He also tells you that if you tell your employees, it may be your salary that gets cut from the budget.

Later that afternoon one of your employees that you've known for years, you were friends before you became their boss, tells you that she found her dream house and that even though it was a little out of her budget she really wanted it. She asks you if it was a good idea for her to put a contract and down payment on it.

Considering all options, what is the most ethical action to take?

 

[Punk Hazard]

Tell her no with careful wording. Rather than saying ¨No¨ and tipping her off to the potential lay-offs, make it more about the house and her budget. Bring up things like:
-Your children(if she has any) may not be quite ready to move to a new neighborhood
-If it's above your budget now, wait a little while more until you receive some more pay and it's better for you
-Moving into a new house creates the need for a new commute, maybe it's not worth it
-Your house right now is already so lovely
etc.

 

[Callypigia]

Tell her no with careful wording. Rather than saying ¨No¨ and tipping her off to the potential lay-offs, make it more about the house and her budget. Bring up things like:
-Your children(if she has any) may not be quite ready to move to a new neighborhood
-If it's above your budget now, wait a little while more until you receive some more pay and it's better for you
-Moving into a new house creates the need for a new commute, maybe it's not worth it
-Your house right now is already so lovely
etc.

So in a sense you're lying to her, even if the intention is to help her. What if one or more of your other employees that you don't have a close relationship with thinking of having a baby, buying a house, scheduling expensive medical operations for their child? Is it fair to with hold that information from them just because you aren't aware of their personal life?

 

[Jazzy Stardust]

This is exactly what I would say...

"Eh, I wouldn't. I'm telling you this because we've been friends but the company is having budget issues. Buying a house wouldn't exactly be perfect timing, though nobody's job is in danger nobody is necessarily safe either.

But please don't tell anyone yet, we're friends and I didn't want to see you go under. But at the same time we're still trying to work this out and don't want to freak anyone out before anything actually happens."

 

[Punk Hazard]

So in a sense you're lying to her, even if the intention is to help her. What if one or more of your other employees that you don't have a close relationship with thinking of having a baby, buying a house, scheduling expensive medical operations for their child? Is it fair to with hold that information from them just because you aren't aware of their personal life?

Yeah. Lying isn't black-and-white-always-wrong. If I don't have a close relationship with them, I don't see why I'd know this stuff anyways.

 

[Callypigia]

Yeah. Lying isn't black-and-white-always-wrong. If I don't have a close relationship with them, I don't see why I'd know this stuff anyways.

Well, yeah, you wouldn't know that stuff, but everyone has problems, expenses, and stresses. Is your friend's situation objectively more important than others just because you are aware of it? What if your friend has terrible attendance and work performance?

 

[Callypigia]

This is exactly what I would say...

"Eh, I wouldn't. I'm telling you this because we've been friends but the company is having budget issues. Buying a house wouldn't exactly be perfect timing, though nobody's job is in danger nobody is necessarily safe either.

But please don't tell anyone yet, we're friends and I didn't want to see you go under. But at the same time we're still trying to work this out and don't want to freak anyone out before anything actually happens."

What are the odds your friend is going to go gossip (it's been known to happen in a work place)? Productivity then drops, and you end up having to lay people off, and you lose your job.

As an ethical supervisor, where does your allegiance lie, your friend or all your employees? What if another employee's 12 year old daughter has cancer and his wife is pregnant? He would lose his insurance if he lost his job, of course you don't know that because you aren't close to that worker.

 

[Wabbit]

An ethical action would be not telling her. One is not supposed to do favors by compromising oneself or employer.

Personally,I would not give long time friend to lay off list unless he is bad worker.
While pursuing career people encounter situation in which there may not be a right or wrong,one should act based on realistic reasoning and adequate background information.

 

[Callypigia]

An ethical action would be not telling her. One is not supposed to do favors by compromising oneself or employer.

Personally,I would not give long time friend to lay off list unless he is bad worker.
While pursuing career people encounter situation in which there may not be a right or wrong,one should act based on realistic reasoning and adequate background information.

That's definitely the fair objective approach to your employees, but as a supervisor is your allegiance to your workers or your corporation? The response you're giving me is definitely to your employer and not a transparency model of management. As an employer it isn't your business how your workers conduct their finances and personal life. But is it ethical to just move on and give your boss the names of three people based purely on performance without giving a heads up to your people? What if Bob was the last hired (common practice being last hired first fired), but his daughter has cancer and his wife is pregnant? You don't really like him, but his work performance is good.

 

[Ryu Kishi]

tell her no cause she might get fired

 

[Callypigia]

tell her no cause she might get fired

That's very black and white lol. Are you ok putting your job at risk for your friend? Do you tell your other employees?

 

[Punk Hazard]

Well, yeah, you wouldn't know that stuff, but everyone has problems, expenses, and stresses. Is your friend's situation objectively more important than others just because you are aware of it? What if your friend has terrible attendance and work performance?

Then I'll warn them they may be fired and ask them not to tell anyone. If they're my friend who feels this close to me, then chances are, they're gonna not say anything.

And yes, the troubles of my friends are far more concerning to me than the troubles of strangers because I care about my friends.

 

[BazzBee]

That's very black and white lol. Are you ok putting your job at risk for your friend? Do you tell your other employees?

I'd request that she don't mention this little secret with anyone, for **** sake. Unless she wants to be stabbed to death after i destroy her in bed.

 

[Ryu Kishi]

That's very black and white lol. Are you ok putting your job at risk for your friend? Do you tell your other employees?

Well they never make you sign anything, to say that you cannot tell everyone. And you dont have to tell everyone, just that one friend.

 

[Wabbit]

That's definitely the fair objective approach to your employees, but as a supervisor is your allegiance to your workers or your corporation? The response you're giving me is definitely to your employer and not a transparency model of management. As an employer it isn't your business how your workers conduct their finances and personal life. But is it ethical to just move on and give your boss the names of three people based purely on performance without giving a heads up to your people? What if Bob was the last hired (common practice being last hired first fired), but his daughter has cancer and his wife is pregnant? You don't really like him, but his work performance is good.

I think it is ethical to give the name based on performance
It is not ethical if I take actions based on personal feud.

Based on the information you gave it is better to keep bob but difficult situation would be when I did not know and I fired him then I came to know such information later or I keep him because of his sob story and then it some how bites me back and I regret it later

 

[Ldude]

Tell her it's her decision. Don't get involved.

 

[Multiply]

She wouldn't be at risk if she's not bad performance wise.

Considering this doesn't say logical, it would be most ethical to tell her it would not be wise to continue with her plans, if she is a bottom performer. If she's not, ethically why would you have to tell her? Lol.

 

[Adam Driver]

Yolo.

 

[NaNaNaaaaa]

You have to give three names of people who will be laid off, don't give her name.

 

[Babadook]

- I have to name three employees who'll get fired, right? Now I just won't name this friend of mine, and as she's not gonna lose her job, she can buy the house.

- Before answering her, I'd ask for time and discuss with the boss what to tell her.

- If I'd warn her, it'd be only fair to warn all 10 employees of mine too, and ask for their discretion. I'd take the risk of cutting my salary.

- If the above can't work out for some reason, I'd take other factors into consideration as well, but there are not enough details right now based on teh OP.

I think those are the options I'd take into consideration...Sometimes you can choose only between bad and worse. What the least bad is, can be evaluated only from a future point of view. I may screw up, who knows, I can't tell in advance how things will work out. It also boils down to one's own moral code. Some people put friendship over everything else, but some others may have a stronger sense of work duty. But it wouldn't be right to let her ruin her life by buying a house, while I know she'd lose her job. So if I warn her and ask her not to tell others, I do the right thing- if she still tells others, its odium is on her. In which case she deserves being fired, and so do I deserve my salary being cut. That's why in such dilemmas cooperation is best. Let's just hope she's clever enough to realize that- if it was a real life situation, I could probably tell of an old friend of mine how reliable she is.