Hopefully, it will never happen to you, but occasionally an employee will be tempted—or even asked—to do something unethical or perhaps borderline illegal. Maybe the questionable act is editing the chemical noise out of mass spectra to make results look better, fudging the numbers on a quality assurance report, or installing an unlicensed copy of a software program on your computer. No matter what the level of infraction is, once you realize a potential action is making you uncomfortable, it’s time to stop and consider carefully before proceeding.
Understand the ask. Think hard about exactly what it is about the task that is making you uneasy. Can you identify the company policy or law that would be violated? Use plain language to explain your concerns to the person who made the request, and ask them directly whether they are requesting that you violate that law or policy. Note that speaking up can have its own consequences, separate from the consequences of complying with the uncomfortable request.
Obviously, if you are being asked to violate the law, you are in a strong position to refuse—but you probably want to start looking for a new job immediately to get yourself out of that environment. If a company policy or professional norm would be violated, you may get more pushback, so you will need to prepare a stronger case for your refusal.
Document. If possible, get the requester to document the request and their responses in writing—perhaps by sending them an email with the request spelled out. Sometimes seeing it written out will prompt them to reconsider. If they refuse to document in writing, that likely indicates that they know what they are asking is wrong.
Explore alternatives. Try to determine what result the person is trying to achieve with their ask, and consider whether there is another way to achieve it. Do you have a good relationship with your boss’s boss, a human resources coordinator, or someone else at the company who might be able to give an unbiased opinion? Resist the urge to discuss the issue too widely or go into too much detail.
Decide. You can do the task and live with the consequences, you can refuse and quit, or you can choose something in between. You likely don’t want to stay at an organization that would put you in this position intentionally, but you’ll need to develop a nondefamatory reason for leaving. Consider the possible outcomes of each course of action and the likelihood of each possibility. Note that if you do something borderline “just this once,” it might become easier to do it again the next time it is asked.
Professional ethics are most important in the gray areas: It’s easy to know the very right from the very wrong, but situations in the middle often have competing priorities and sometimes surprising consequences. Taking the time to think about all the possible actions and consequences can help you decide what the right thing is for you. At the end of the day, you may need to balance your need for employment with your need for personal integrity, but you need to be able to sleep at night.
Get involved in the discussion. The ACS Career Tips column is published monthly in C&EN. Send your comments and ideas for topics for future columns to careernavigator@acs.org.