Workplace Ethics 6

[tz101]

Have you ever worked at a place where the president, your boss, or the DOO were shady and asked you to perform unethical practices? If not, have you simply witnessed dishonest and/or unethical business practices going on around you? How did you handle this?

 

[SuperSalad]

I was asked by the vice president of my division to use a more lenient way to interpret test results, giving a better looking number, when it was very clear that if you surpass a certain level of data, a more strict (and far more accurate) interpretation should be used.

I said no and provided the more accurate version of the data in my report.

This then got passed on to other, less experienced, colleagues to do the same thing. They also refused once I explained to them what he was asking them to do.

Edit: This was with a previous employer, just to clarify.

Andrew H.

http://www.MotoTribology.com

 

[thebard3]

To make a long story short, and with a previous employer, local inspectors were visiting the facility on a particular day. My boss suggested that if I were asked a particular question I should answer it in a particular (untrue) way. I told him that wasn't happening so I was given that day off, gratis. I figured if somebody was going to jail for lying it wasn't going to be me. If fines were levied, it was someone else's problem.

Brad Waybright

It's all okay as long as it's okay.

 

[IRstuff]

Yes, argued about the ethics of shipping product we knew was defective to spec; lost the argument, wrote my Pearl Harbor memo. Two days later, not my doing, we got a GIDEP alert to stop shipping and got an apology from my GM.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

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[tz101]

Glad to see you guys got out of your predicaments without too much pain, though writing a Pearl Harbor memo is stressing.

Any of you ever witnessed blatant OSHA violations that upper management looks the other way on?

 

[SuperSalad]

I've seen OSHA violations attempt to be ignored. Those things tend to come up though if the workforce is educated on their rights and not much choice is given in the end.

Andrew H.

http://www.MotoTribology.com

 

[IRstuff]

though writing a Pearl Harbor memo is stressing

For sure; the 2nd thing was updating my resume, which didn't need to be exercised, then; but, about 6 months later, I did use it because it was clear the company was doomed, for a number of reasons.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list

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[tz101]

Unfortunately, I have seen just about everything over the past 15 years from trying to illegally treat salaried employees like hourly (saying they will dock pay if you take off a partial day, offering "bonus pay" at straight time for any hours worked past 45 in a given week), to mysteriously vanishing incomplete internal CAR's from the quality system just before the big ISO audit, to covering up OSHA violations by rushing injured employees to the local hospital and keeping them working doing light duty jobs after the bandages/cast have been applied so that OSHA doesn't find out about the particular violations.

 

[oknow]

Work for a company for many many years. Seen several unethical issues take place that were condoned by the President. Resigned at the end of the year.

 

[moltenmetal]

Said no to unethical requests a few times. No consequences, and no issue really because it was clear in my mind that I wasn't going to do it anyway and if needed, I could always find another job anyway.

Always managed to convince others who wanted to be unethical, to take the ethical route, when presented with that opportunity in advance.

Have been disappointed by unethical actions taken by people under my direction. And have also been accused, wrongly in my view, of unethical actions on my own part, but I totally understand that each person has their own view on these things and draws their own set of lines in the sand.

Most importantly: learned very early that it is wrong to assume that someone wants to behave unethically. It is much better, and usually more accurate, to assume that someone wants to behave ethically and then convince them of how they can do that.

And that story bears mentioning: I was a student working in a lab doing process development work. We received a dangerous chemical that the president wanted us to test in our test apparatus because he (falsely) assumed there was a market need for us to demonstrate that testing. It was clear that we were not set up to handle that substance safely, nor were we about to kit ourselves out with the gear needed to do the experiments safely. Young engineer colleague was clearly upset, crying, worried that she'd have to do the work and risk her life. I stepped up and told our boss that we were in a "refuse to work" situation about this. She put me at ease immediately, and then told me what we'd done wrong: we'd assumed that she would actually compel us to do work that was unsafe. What we SHOULD have done was explain to her the hazards and what we'd need to do to carry out the experiments safely and then let her decide, rather than assuming she'd act unethically. And she was dead right. Sometimes, how you communicate something is key- and making inaccurate assumptions about people isn't helpful.

 

[buzzp]

I have been a part of too many unethical companies and employees. Some very blatant, others not so much. I have seen NERC reports fudged by federal facilities (this one caught up to them). I have also seen an all out blatant disregard for electrical safety in general. Originally, I thought it was due to ignorance on electrical safety and some of it was, but most of it was trying to save money. The list of violations at this place was endless. After trying to explain the issues many times without any resolution, I reported them and got fired. I have never been happier.

Too many people let things slide because they don't have a spine. Me, I am too concerned with others to turn the other cheek (I know I sound righteous but it is the truth). I am more than willing to sacrifice my comfort in order to prevent (or at least have a clear conscious about) injuries.
Stay true to yourself and do what is right.

 

[EnergyProfessional]

A former boss with my current employer wanted me to make up numbers to make things look better. Her exact words:"numbers don't have to be accurate, numbers have to look good". I just gave her my spreadsheet with he correct numbers and let her make whatever changes she deemed "necessary".

Another boss, out of ignorance, wanted me to change designs to make them cheaper and always googled to proof to me that I was wrong or brought up other people wo said out of context something was feasible or legal. She is no engineer, has no engineering knowledge... I'm a licensed engineer and am not gonna stamp a design I don't think is right because some know-it-all "read somewhere" it would be OK. She is now a big boss of mine, but at least that removed me a bit. Got to love people that have some liberal arts degree and think Google gives them all the knowledge. Well, if you know-it-all, it should be easy to get your own license and stamp whatever you want.