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When the boss is up to no good
Question:
I have discovered that my boss is engaged in unethical and possible illegal practices, what do I do?
Answer:
First, in a town where too many staffers end up embroiled in legal cases because of the behavior of their bosses, let me make clear that my answer is made from a career management perspective. I'm not an attorney and this isn't legal advice. If you think there are serious legal implications for you in this situation, please find a good attorney to consult.
If this is just about garden-variety yucky stuff, not Whitewater, then the answer depends on your situation. If you are employed by a company that overall behaves in an ethical and law-abiding manner, and your boss is an abberation, you may be able to speak to someone in human resources or in the general counsel's office about your concerns. It's far easier to do this if you have clear evidence of the problems, so it isn't your word against the boss. The hope is that the company will swiftly address the problem, remove your boss, and thank you for your honesty.
That's the hope, but let's be realistic: most companies prefer to ignore problems and they won't thank you for raising the issue. They may fire the problem employee because they have to, but you are likely to find your career stalled as well. So you have to think long and hard about whether this is a crusade you want to take on.
If this behavior is emblematic of the company overall, then they already know what is going on and raising it will only hurt you. Your best choice in this case is to leave the position as quickly and quietly as possible, without disclosing to anyone in the company why you are doing so. (If you let someone know you are leaving because of concerns about the boss' behavior, it's likely to get back to your boss, who is likely to react badly. So go quietly.).
I don't mean to suggest that you ignore gross violations of the law. If you believe that the authorities need to be notified, you can do so with much less risk to yourself once you are out of the company. In some cases, it is possible to raise issues anonymously by calling a regulatory hotline.
Unfortunately, a lot of stuff doesn't rise to the level of gross negligence or malfeasance--it's little stuff that is wrong. It is hard to justify sacrificing self and career for it. Those are the cases where you just move on, leaving the situation to karmic justice. Notice that none of my options include looking the other way and staying in the job indefinitely. Once it is clear that there's something not quite right going on, staying just taints you and your reputation--never a winning career move.
Karen Chopra
| March 3, 2010; 6:03 AM ET | Category: Workplace Interactions Save & Share:
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Posted by: Nymous | March 5, 2010 5:23 AM
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Leave, find some place else that doesn't have this problem. It's always best to cut your losses in these situations. Unless you're literally sworn to do so you have no obligation to fix this situation. Some jobs (especially around DC/Metro) do come with some amount of obligation to act on knowledge of that type. Most jobs don't have that going on, and interpretation of one's obligation should be done under strict construction.
Your goal is to be doing the things you chose to do in an environment that does not have people acting in ways that are anti-ethical to your goals and choices. It's a mistake to change your goals when what you should do is change your workplace.
It is not that there is no justice in these situations, it's that they're toxic & contaminate the lives of others. The fact is that more often than not the justice that comes is that of their eventual failure. So it makes a lot of sense to distance yourself from the inevitable, rather than attempt to hurry it along.
Don't go looking to the NLRB for help, you'll just screw yourself if you do. The best bet is to hang in there while you look hard for something new.