Coping with Toxic Managers, Subordinates…and Other Difficult People

Chapter 6. Unethical Opportunists

I Have to Break This Rule

Many managers who engage in unethical activities would be shocked to hear that you think they are unethical. (Actually, perhaps you don't think they are. Hopefully, this chapter will encourage you to reconsider.) Most people who periodically engage in unethical behavior consider themselves relatively ethical people who are only doing what others are doing. They see themselves as upstanding members of the community who generally obey the rules, and they see their stepping over the line as either trivial or expected and sanctioned by those in authority. A devoted family man might condone creative accountancy at work, or a famous woman might evade taxes.

So what happens? Why do generally ...