"Stretching the truth" at work

[renaistre]

Hey everyone,

There seems to be a lot of reasonable people here, so maybe ya'll can help me here.

I have always believed that honesty is the best policy, but I've run into a situation that's frankly stumped me. Basically, I'm trying to decide how far I should be willing to "spin" the truth at the request of my boss. I am not really being asked to lie outright.

See, I work for a large corporation managing the engineering documentation (like blueprints, and machine operation manuals) at one of their plants. The corporation has a records retention policy about how long papers and computer files and other records can be kept, and how they are to be maintained. So in a week or two we are going to have an audit to see if we are in compliance with the policy.

Here's where the problem starts: It's literally impossible for us to follow the exact directions of the policy. It is apparent that whoever wrote the policy had no idea of the nature of engineering documentation. However, we are in compliance with the "spirit of the law," and in fact, we are far closer to compliance than almost any other plant in the corporation.

The one thing that is specified that we can’t do is to do a yearly internal audit of all our records. We would have to either shut down all our operations for at least a month or hire an other person just for this job in order to do this. Our method is to constantly be internally auditing small sections of our information, which accomplishes the same thing. But the corporation auditors probably won’t understand this, so my boss told me to tell them that we do conduct an annual audit if they ask me.

So here’s my dilemma: I don’t want to lie, but I also don’t want to get my boss in trouble when he hasn't really done anything wrong. Any ideas?

Thanks,
Evan

 

[Daily Miracle]

Ethics! My favorite .

It's a lie, not a stretch of the truth. Will you lose your job if you tell the truth? Does your boss think YOU are unethical enough to do this? Will he ask you to do this again if he knows he can count on you to cover things up?

It sounds like if you tell a lie, someday, we all know it's happened, "things happen" and stories leak out about this type of cover-up. Do you want to be caught in it, or do you want clean hands?

For the most part, it sounds like your boss is pretty accurate with his records. I'd tell the truth, because even if something comes of it, you sound comfortable with the fact that the records are as they should be.

 

[ChristsChick]

I'd tell the truth, if like you say he hasn't really done anything wrong then he should have nothing to worry about. If you do 'stretch the truth' you'll be lying to cover for him, and do you really want that on your mind? And like Daily Miracle, if the truth does come out later, your hands will be clean.

I know it'll be tough to take the stand, but ask yourself...what would Jesus do?...that old gem is a really good way of working out if God would approve of you doing something. Do you think Jesus would tell a lie to cover for his boss?

 

[Grommit]

Wow, thats one tough spot to be in. Well, when I am put in a situation like this at work I am quick to tell my boss that I cannot bring myself to 'stretch the truth' for him or for anyone. If he wants to lie, thats his business. I do not want anyone to lie but, if he's going to lie, have him lie for himself.

Can you tell your boss how you feel about it without getting on his bad side? If you can I would tell your boss that if they ask you if the plant had performed yearly audits or not that you will direct them to him (your boss) because you do not feel you are in a position to give the proper answer.

 

[sparrow1029]

Yeah, I agree with Grommit. I was thinking that if I were in this situation I'd just direct the auditor to my boss for that particular question. Could you see if your boss would be ok with that? Maybe just tell him you don't feel right about telling a lie (and be completely respectful and humble about it), and that it'd be better if he handled it. That way, you strike a balance between keeping your standards, and maintaining harmony at work. Also, it lets your boss know your standards--and if I were your boss, I'd sure value an honest employee.

 

[goodgirl]

a) whatever you decide, you're obligated to talk to your boss about it first. Otherwise, you're lying to him/her.

b) do you guys audit? does it happen once a year? yes to both questions. Personally, I'd be ok with it.

c) if you're in court, you answer the questions asked to you, without volunteering extra information. That's not lying, either.

 

[Desert Walker]

As hard as it is to live in this world of sin, the truth is the only way to be. I've been in that seat more times than one can count. My boss knows my response, it's, "I cannot lie" At first it was hard for me to muster those words to him, but as time progressed, I found he already knew the answer before it came out. In fact he would say things like, "now I'm not asking you to lie, just don't say more than is asked of you" Sure, if something illegal is happening, one has an obligation to speak, but as you put it, it sounds as if your comany is making a sincere effort at complying. So many company rules are written without truly being thought of, perhaps you have answered the delema's solution in your note, perhaps the company needs to hire an additional person to take care of this trouble. My opinion is to tell your boss how you feel, that you cannot lie, that you don't wish to cause any troubles and that you will simply refer the auditors to him should there be any questions you cannot answer.

One thing I found with my stance, it's as if God honoured my descision and many many times, I wasn't even put into that situation to need to be tempted to lie. It's as if God stopped the questions from being asked, to which I was very grateful.

All the best with your delema.

 

[renaistre]

Ethics! My favorite .

It's a lie, not a stretch of the truth. Will you lose your job if you tell the truth? Does your boss think YOU are unethical enough to do this? Will he ask you to do this again if he knows he can count on you to cover things up?

It sounds like if you tell a lie, someday, we all know it's happened, "things happen" and stories leak out about this type of cover-up. Do you want to be caught in it, or do you want clean hands?

For the most part, it sounds like your boss is pretty accurate with his records. I'd tell the truth, because even if something comes of it, you sound comfortable with the fact that the records are as they should be.

First of all, thanks to all who replied. I have been reading the replies even though I haven't responded to any yet.

So far nothing has come of this situation, in that no one has asked me anything yet. I'm not sure if the audit is over or not, but I think it is.

Daily Miracle, the problem is that technically, what I am talking about would not be a lie. But it would be somewhat misleading. It's also something that would have no possibility whatsoever of being a problem if I was "caught," because it would not really be a lie, and it would be seen as a misunderstanding at worst.

When it comes down to decision time though, I still think I agree with you.

 

[renaistre]

I'd tell the truth, if like you say he hasn't really done anything wrong then he should have nothing to worry about...

Unfortunatly, this is where I think you are wrong. It's hard to explain big company politics, but that's just the way it is.

I know it'll be tough to take the stand, but ask yourself...what would Jesus do?...that old gem is a really good way of working out if God would approve of you doing something. Do you think Jesus would tell a lie to cover for his boss?

I think that's good advice, but the problem is I'm really not sure what Jesus would do in this situation.

...Can you tell your boss how you feel about it without getting on his bad side? If you can I would tell your boss that if they ask you if the plant had performed yearly audits or not that you will direct them to him (your boss) because you do not feel you are in a position to give the proper answer.

...I was thinking that if I were in this situation I'd just direct the auditor to my boss for that particular question. Could you see if your boss would be ok with that? ...

I'm not sure how he would respond, but I don't think it would be very pretty . I think he would just insist that I would not be lieing if I answered how he wants me to. One of the problems with directing the auditors to him is that it would really just be a yes or no answer that I should be able to answer because of my position.

b) do you guys audit? does it happen once a year? yes to both questions. Personally, I'd be ok with it.

Therein lies the whole issue. Yes, we audit. Does it happen once a year? Sort of, but it's a lot more complicated than that. It depends on how you define once a year. This is why I'm having a hard time with this.

 

[renaistre]

As hard as it is to live in this world of sin, the truth is the only way to be. I've been in that seat more times than one can count. My boss knows my response, it's, "I cannot lie" At first it was hard for me to muster those words to him, but as time progressed, I found he already knew the answer before it came out. In fact he would say things like, "now I'm not asking you to lie, just don't say more than is asked of you" Sure, if something illegal is happening, one has an obligation to speak, but as you put it, it sounds as if your comany is making a sincere effort at complying. So many company rules are written without truly being thought of, perhaps you have answered the delema's solution in your note, perhaps the company needs to hire an additional person to take care of this trouble. My opinion is to tell your boss how you feel, that you cannot lie, that you don't wish to cause any troubles and that you will simply refer the auditors to him should there be any questions you cannot answer.

One thing I found with my stance, it's as if God honoured my descision and many many times, I wasn't even put into that situation to need to be tempted to lie. It's as if God stopped the questions from being asked, to which I was very grateful.

All the best with your delema.

Good post. Thanks. It seems that this has happend in my case, that is, I haven't been asked any of these questions. God is good.

Thanks again everyone. As muddy as the corporate waters are, you have helped me to clear them somewhat.