This morning, news broke that that US President Donald Trump instructed his lawyer to lie to the US Government on his behalf about a personal business project.
Buzzfeed report that Trump instructed Michael Cohen to lie to US Congress about when negotiations regarding the building of a Trump tower in Moscow ended.
The news outlet claim that two sources told them that Trump personally ordered Cohen to tell Congress that negotiations ended months earlier than they did to obscure the now President’s involvement.
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Buzzfeed write: “It is the first known example of Trump explicitly telling a subordinate to lie directly about his own dealings.” Trump has repeatedly told the public he had no business deals with Russia.
Whilst this has huge and ongoing implications for the investigations into Trump’s ties with Russia there is a perhaps more obscure takeaway for HR: what happens if an employee is faced with a boss who is asking them to lie, or do something unethical, for them?
What form can workplace lies take?
Harvard Business report that there are many different examples of when employees could be implicated in unethical or downright wrong behaviour at work.
It could be to actually undertake a small action – such as rounding up or down figures in accounts or when pitching to clients. Alternatively, it could be to look the other way when others are doing something wrong.
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It could even be doing something that many might consider just behaviour – such a signing in a colleague on time if you know they’re going to be late or absent.
Business leaders may be economical with the truth to protect what they might perceive as their competitive advantage, encourage people to join a firm, or to limit damage to an organisation.
Examples of corporate wrongdoing
There are also examples of corporate lying that have exposed companies that don’t operate in the most ethical of manners.
Volkswagen has had to set aside billions to cover cheating on emissions tests, whilst Enron collapsed because it modified the balance sheet to indicate a more favourable performance.
More recently, both Huawei and Samsung have been caught lying about the photographic ability of their premium handsets. All of these cases ended badly for the firms.
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Yet, in one example lying was found to bring a benefit to company culture. One study, into workplace engagement, found that lying was playing a key part in creating a positive company culture.
It involved a sub-contracted firm who provided receptionist call-centre services for a variety of different clients – from undertakers through to events firm.
The ‘receptionists’ could see who was calling on a screen and had to pretend they were in the same building as the person the caller wanted to contact was.
As the researchers found: “It became clear that the shared experience of deception that the workers actively and collectively engaged in on an ongoing basis was at the heart of their commitment and enjoyment.”
What can you do if your boss asks you to lie?
Theoretically, doing the right thing sounds easy. It is not. A recent US study found that over half of employees who reported misconduct in their firm said they experienced retaliation.
This could include worse evaluations as well as being passed up for promotions and raises. As one business professor said: “One man’s whistle-blower is another man’s snitch.”
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And, if you disobey a direct order there may be professional consequences and even punishment.
Writing in the BBC, Israela Brill-Cass, an ex-Director of a US law firm, said that “in a situation where your job might be at risk the answer may be less clear.” She argues that you might want to tread carefully but need to remember that you still have ethical obligations.
One way you could do this is to exert pressure by reminding them of the potential effect on the employer and consumer brand of the business.
Alternatively, in Fast Company, Avery Blank, a women’s leadership expert, advises that one solution can be to repeat the request back to the person asking you to undertake the action. Blank writes:
“Saying it aloud before acting on it may also help your manager see why and how she’s put you in an uncomfortable position.”
Paul Fiorelli, the Director of Cintas Institute for Business Ethics at Xavier University, agrees with Blank and suggests pushing back by using plain language.
Writing in the NYT, he suggests using plain language like: “You’ve asked me to do this, but if I did this it would violate this policy we have. You’re not asking me to do that, are you?”
Alternatively, one Harvard Business Review article suggests taking a principled rebellion. “It entails learning how to say no, systematically and sequentially, by slowly turning up the heat on those in charge,” write Robert Ferguson and Peter Coleman, the authors of the piece.
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In a larger company, if these tactics don’t work, then the employee could speak to a compliance officer or HR.
However, in a smaller company, or if the bosses are directly benefiting from the unethical behaviour, the only other alternative might be to whistleblow – going outside the organisation to a hotline, trade body, government body, or media.
And, as a last resort, the employee could always leave. As Mary McDonnel, Professor of University of Pennsylvania told the NYT: “The worst thing that could happen to you is you’ll be fired, but you can’t really stay at a job that’s going to ask you to transgress your morals anyway.”
