You've Got to Be Kidding!: How to Keep Your Job Without Losing Your Integrity

You've Got to Be Kidding!: How to Keep Your Job Without Losing Your Integrity

by Nan DeMars
Released June 2011
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9780470947517

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Book description

What to do when you're caught in the middle of an ethical dilemma at work

In today's super-stressed workplace, an ethical dilemma can come at you when you least expect it. Here's how to do the right thing without losing your integrity or your job. You've GOT To Be Kidding will help you create an ethics-based workplace that's a joy to work in. This isn't the usual top-down, executive-only manual, but an approach to workplace ethics that's as relevant and accessible to employees as it is to managers and executives. From renowned workplace educator and author of You Want Me To Do What?, this book is filled with recognizable examples ripped from today's headlines that put ethical principles in concrete terms.

  • Filled with recognizable examples that put ethical principles in concrete terms
  • Covers such topics as topics as loyalty, confidentiality, security, office romance, harassment, social networking at work, harassment, workplace bullying, lying for your boss, and even Internet mischief
  • A practical manual for assessing, discussing, and resolving ethical dilemmas in the workplace

With employees at all levels being held more accountable than ever before, You've GOT To Be Kidding gives businesses of all types and sizes a winning set of principles and practices to do business at the highest ethical level and serves as a guide for anyone who wants to do the right thing without losing their integrity or their job.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Endorsement
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Preface
  7. Introduction Why Do We Care about Ethics in the Workplace?
    1. Admins Have Always Been in the Middle of the Action
    2. Everyone Now “Gets It!”
    3. I’m Optimistic
  8. Part I: Take Care of Yourself
    1. Chapter 1: When Morals Become Ethics
      1. A Few Definitions
      2. What Do You Think?
      3. Are There Morals We All Agree Upon?
      4. Growing Up Ethical
      5. But Aren’t Laws Sufficient?
      6. We Grow Ethically as We Mature (Thank Heaven)
      7. We All Have Regrets
      8. Should We Lower Our Standards to Make Our Lives Easier?
    2. Chapter 2: The Age of Accountability
      1. Welcome to the Age of Accountability!
      2. New Ethics Expectations and Rules for Employees
      3. Thank You, Enron—You Woke Us Up
      4. What Would You Do? How Would You Decide?
      5. Take Care of Yourself
      6. Take Care of Your Company and Its Customers
      7. Take Care of Your Supervisor
      8. Consequences of Not Following Your Ethical Priority Compass
      9. A Few Horror Stories
      10. Taking the Fall
      11. Embracing Accountability Is a Two-Way Street Today
      12. The “Puffed with Importance” Conversation
      13. Nan DeMars’s Ethics Dilemma Audit
    3. Chapter 3: The Twin Faces of Loyalty
      1. The Dark Side of Loyalty
      2. New Expectations
      3. The Martha Stewart Trial
      4. The “Old Loyalty” Is No Longer Relevant
      5. “Good” versus “Bad” Loyalty
      6. Team Loyalty Comes in Good and Bad Flavors, Too
      7. Resolving Team Loyalty Dilemmas
      8. “Torn” Loyalties with Bosses
      9. Loyalty Can Be Seductive
      10. Loyalty Is Almost Always Personal
      11. The New Loyalty Means Being Committed to Doing the Right Thing
      12. Managers’ Alert: Start Talking!
      13. No More Eyes Wide Shut
      14. Talking Points to Help Understand the New Loyalty: For Managers and Employees
    4. Chapter 4: True Myths? It Depends!
      1. Myth 1: “It Isn’t My Job to Police My Boss and/or Coworkers”
      2. Myth 2: “Women Are More Ethical than Men; They Are More Moral and More Principled”
      3. Myth 3: “What Others Do Is None of My Concern”
      4. Myth 4: “I’m the Only One Who Sees What’s Going On, and I’m the Only One Who Cares”
      5. Myth 5: “I Can Trust My Boss to Always Be Fair (or Unfair)”
      6. Myth 6: “I Have to Do What I’m Told to Keep My Job”
      7. Myth 7: “I Really Made a Bad Mistake; I’m a Bad Person”
      8. Myth 8: “A Person Cannot Be Talked into Acting with Greater Moral Courage”
      9. Myth 9: “You Are Born with Your Morality; You Believe What You Believe, and, By Golly, You Will Cling to It throughout Your Life”
      10. Myth 10: “People Instinctively Do the Right Thing When Confronted with an Ethical Dilemma”
    5. Chapter 5: Mea Culpa—I Screwed Up!
      1. Step 1: Assess the Problem
      2. Step 2: Acknowledge Your Mistake
      3. Step 3: Forgive Yourself, and Then Apologize to Whomever You Need To
      4. Step 4: Do What You Need to Do So This Doesn’t Happen Again
      5. Step 5: Finally, Maintain a Positive Attitude
  9. Part II: Take Care of Your Organization
    1. Chapter 6: Zip It!
      1. Secrets Are in Your DNA
      2. Nan DeMars’s Up Close and Personal Confidentiality Audit with Your Manager
      3. What’s the Big Deal about Confidentiality? Is My Company Hiding Information It Shouldn’t Be?
      4. But Doesn’t the Public Have the Right to Know about Certain Information?
      5. Respect Your Boss’s Personal Privacy As Well
      6. More Unwritten Rules “Everyone Should Just Know”
      7. No Profession Is Immune to Confidentiality Defaults
      8. Where Do the Threats to Confidentiality Come From?
      9. Loyalty Complicates Confidentiality Dilemmas
      10. Inquiring Minds Do Not Have to Know
      11. Is Firing Too Harsh?
      12. These Two Admins Knocked the Socks off Their Bosses
      13. The Best Defense Is a Strong Offense
    2. Chapter 7: Security Is Your Problem (Like It or Not)!
      1. Thinking about Security Differently
      2. Protecting the Company’s Assets
      3. Don’t Try to Do This Alone
      4. Whom Are You Most Worried About?
      5. Suggestions for Countermeasures from Your Peers
      6. Nan’s Warning
      7. What Will Become of Us?
    3. Chapter 8: Gossip Over the Cubicle Fence
      1. All Sorts of Tongues Are Wagging
      2. Why Do We Gossip?
      3. What’s So Bad about Gossip in the Office?
      4. What Can the Company Do?
      5. What Can One Employee Do?
    4. Chapter 9: Cupid in the Cubicle
      1. Employers Are Confused as Well
      2. Why Is Workplace Romance on the Upswing?
      3. Why Do Companies Discourage Workplace Romance?
      4. The Big Trouble: Employees Reporting to Each Other
      5. Dangers of the Triple R
      6. The “David Letterman Risk”
      7. Equal Treatment Today
      8. Employee Cautions
      9. Viva Romance!
      10. Cupid Cops and Love Contracts
      11. The Potential “Hostile Environment” Claim
      12. Managers’ Alert
      13. A Word on Adulterous Workplace Romances
      14. Major Sea Changes
      15. Workplace Romance: The Final Verdict?
    5. Chapter 10: Party Up—or Party Down?
    6. Chapter 11: Trick or Treat
      1. The Pit-of-the-Stomach Rule
      2. Establishing and Documenting Company Guidelines
      3. Nan DeMars’s Vendor Ethics Audit
    7. Chapter 12: Copyright or Copy Wrong?
      1. Copyright Basics
      2. Intellectual Property Law Basics
      3. Requesting Permission
      4. Cubicle Copyright Myths
      5. Copyright Offline
      6. When You Don’t Need Permission
      7. Finally, Some Good News
      8. Err on the Safe Side
    8. Chapter 13: To Blow or Not to Blow
      1. Lessons from Other Whistle-Blowers
      2. Protection for Whistle-Blowers Is Sketchy
      3. Doing the Right Thing for the Right Reasons
      4. Final Considerations: The Big Picture
  10. Part III: Take Care of Your Supervisor
    1. Chapter 14: The Trouble with the Boss—Is the Boss!
      1. That Was Then; This Is What Happens Now
      2. Ethical Dilemmas with Your Boss
      3. The Unique Boss/Assistant Relationship Is Unique to Its Own
      4. Power versus Ethics
      5. Only You Can Launch the Ethical Conversation
      6. Truth-Telling Discussions Are Not Easy
      7. The Trouble with Talking to Your Boss
      8. Why Do They Do It?
      9. Nan DeMars’s 12-Step Program to Keep Your Boss Ethical
      10. How to Keep Your Job and Your Relationship with Your Boss
      11. Now, a Few Tips about Your Style
      12. Sara’s Story
      13. Summary
    2. Chapter 15: The Dog Ate My Laptop
      1. Let’s Face It: A Lie by Any Other Name Is Still a Lie!
      2. So What If I Lie? Does It Really Matter?
      3. Is It Always Morally Wrong to Lie?
      4. Is a Lie Ever Justified?
      5. Little White Lies
      6. Serious Lies
      7. “White Lies” via the Telephone
      8. What Do I Do If I Am Asked to Lie?
      9. Can Lies Ever Be Excused?
      10. How Do I Avoid Being Trapped by Lies?
      11. Aren’t I Legally Protected If I Lie for My Boss at His Request?
      12. The Military Gets It Right
      13. What about Poor Bob, Whose Boss Is Lying at the Opening of This Chapter?
      14. “Just the Facts, Ma’am”
      15. Can I Slide around It?
      16. Lies Will Always Be Ethically Wrong
    3. Chapter 16: The XXX Files
      1. Is Porn at Work Really a Problem?
      2. A Word about Child Pornography
    4. Chapter 17: Abuse in the Workplace
      1. We’re Still Misbehavin’
      2. Let’s Hear It for Common Sense—and Common Courtesy
      3. Is It Abuse or Harassment or Bullying or Something Else?
      4. The “Job-Affecting” Standard
      5. The Costs of Harassment
      6. Are You Being Harassed, Abused, or Bullied?
      7. Nan DeMars’s Workplace Harassment Audit
      8. What Can You Do before You Call the Lawyers?
      9. How to Get Harassment to Stop
      10. The Abusive Boss Owns the Company
      11. Two Administrators Hit Their Abusive Bosses Head-On
      12. The Abusive Coworker
      13. Tips in Action
      14. Employers Step Up—Most of the Time
      15. Can You Use a Company Hotline?
      16. Raising the Bar
      17. Are We Going Too Far?
  11. Part IV: You Can Keep Your Integrity and Your Job
    1. Chapter 18: Raises, Not Roses!
      1. The Expanded Role
      2. Job Description or Job Conscription?
      3. Your “Little White Line”
      4. Personal Assistants
      5. The Trials of the “Office Wife”
      6. How Much Personal Service Is Too Much?
      7. Getting Off the Slippery Slope
      8. Communicate, Communicate, Communicate!
      9. Respect Is Always the Trump Card
    2. Chapter 19: The Ethics of Job Hunting
      1. Be Careful
      2. Be Confidential
      3. Be Considerate
      4. Do I Have to Lie about Being Fired?
      5. It’s Never Easy
    3. Chapter 20: Start Talking!
      1. Talk before You Walk
      2. Informal Ethics Discussions Can Prevent Ethical Dilemmas
      3. Informal Ethics Discussions Can Resolve Ethical Dilemmas
      4. Beginning the Ethics Discussion
      5. The “What Do We Do Now” Conversations
      6. What If the Discussion Does Not Resolve the Dilemma?
      7. How to Up the Ante
      8. Your Challenge
    4. Chapter 21: Doing the Right Thing Never Looked So Right!
      1. The Ethical Office Is Here
      2. Good News: It’s Working!
      3. Who Are the Bad Guys?
      4. Bobby Jones, Role Model
      5. You Are Who You Are
      6. What’s the Price of My Personal Integrity?
      7. Summary: There Are Many Keys to the Ethical Office
      8. The Benefits
      9. The Ethical Office at a Glance
      10. Yes, You Can!
      11. Back to Bobby Jones
  12. Acknowledgments
  13. About the Author
  14. Index

Product information

  • Title: You've Got to Be Kidding!: How to Keep Your Job Without Losing Your Integrity
  • Author(s): Nan DeMars
  • Release date: June 2011
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9780470947517