Ethical Decision Making In The Workplace
Ethical Decision Making In The Work Place
Scenario:
You are a new officer and you’ve just finished your shift. One of the firefighters’ scheduled to work today has called in sick and you have him replaced with an overtime firefighter. On your way home, you stop at the local home supply store to get some gardening supplies. On your way out of the store, you see the firefighter who called in sick this morning. He’s carrying a load of wood that he’s returning to the store.
What would you say or do, if anything?
This hypothetical scenario of workplace ethics arises often and the way it is handled can have a major impact on one’s career and personal relationships. More importantly, it will have a direct impact on two vital characteristics required in our profession, your reputation and your credibility.
Recently society has been deluged with bad decisions by talented, highly regarded individuals, often people we have actually viewed as role models prior to their fall from grace. The list seems almost endless, and includes major celebrities, sports idols, politicians, corporate executives, clergy, college coaches, and even police and firefighters. And remember, these are only the individuals that have had their poor judgment exposed to us by the media, the ones who have been “caught”!
It’s not always “bad” people who make bad decisions. If we are not vigilant, any one of us can find ourselves compromising our principles in a moment controlled by impulses like self-indulgence, fear, self-interest, intimidation or pure ambition.
Good intentions and moral rhetoric can often be a fragile deterrent to succumbing to a strong temptation. This, coupled with our human capacity to rationalize our acts, can often lead to a bad decision. We must strengthen our moral aspirations and our ethical leadership with continuous self-discipline and good judgment. We have all heard the saying that “integrity” is measured by doing the right thing even when no one else is watching.
Regarding our scenario, most of us will agree that the firefighter at the home supply store made a poor decision. Some may say, “It’s no big thing, happens all the time”. Others will feel it wasn’t the right thing to do, but take no action. How many of us will look at this, determine it wasn’t the right thing to do and take the appropriate action?
In our profession, where honor, integrity and trust are required every day, whether in the Fire Station or out on an emergency response, we want to believe that most of us would say this firefighter made a poor decision. When he was observed at the home supply store, actually both parties were placed in a compromising situation. He abused the department sick leave policy and probably violated the departments’ rules and regulations. His decision, if brought to light, could lead to some type of discipline. And the officer that observed the firefighter, whether he reports it to the department, decides to personally counsel the firefighter, or just pretend he didn’t see him, becomes a co-conspirator. Think about what you would say as the officer who saw him, when you are questioned about this event during a possible investigation.
What’s’ most important to today’s Fire Service and the maintenance of our high standards, is how do you feel about the firefighter’s decision and subsequent actions? What would you do about it if you were the officer who saw him? We look forward to hearing your thoughts.
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E AMA MOLTO–LOVE MUCH