How to do the right thing without losing your job
Doing the right thing often clashes directly with self-preservation and the need to keep a job. The fear of burning bridges prevents professionals from sharing neutral information on social media or refusing morally repugnant assignments. Because they cannot afford to be fired, they put off figuring out where their ethical line is until a situation forces them to choose.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Keeping information purely factual and general to avoid pointing back to a companyDid this help you?
- 2Engaging in private 1-1 conversations and knowledge sharing instead of public postingDid this help you?
- 3Educating oneself privately without publishing articles or social media postsDid this help you?
- 4Using career assessments to put work values into words.Did this help you?
- 5Distinguishing between general company politics and the specific tasks their hands are doing all day.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I've drawn my line at doing work that directly enables something I find morally repugnant, not just a client I disagree with politically.”source ↗
“My biggest concern is burning bridges with the organization and possibly my current employer, since even a neutral display of information can be perceived as aggressive and opinionated in nature.”source ↗
“I often have found myself torn in my HR career between doing the right thing and self-preservation.”source ↗
“I personally am super careful about what I post on social media because I worry about my own job security and I can't afford to lose my job.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 4How do you run a business without supporting unethical corporations?
- 8How to handle compliance maintenance without stalling IT projects
- 27How to balance a corporate career with having kids
- 3Why is keeping a professional network CRM updated so tedious?
- 28How to go back to school while working full time with a family
- 3Is this job offer a wise move for my long-term goals?