Ethics and Integrity in Business: Navigating Ethical Risks and Transgressions in the Workplace.
George F. Halow, Brian Talbot; Published by WDI Publishing, a division of the William Davidson Institute (WDI) at the University of Michigan.
Personal Behavior on Work Site (Creating a Safe and Inclusive Environment)
Ultimately, Andrea did get the promotion to the position of engineering supervisor, managing a team of
12 engineers working on various projects. Soon after she started in this new role, she discovered that one of
her employees, Kevin, was watching videos on his computer during his lunch hour. Maria, another employee
in the organization, found these videos objectionable. At first, Maria complained to Kevin directly, but when
his behavior didn’t change, Maria set up a meeting with Andrea and explained the situation.
Wanting to do the right thing, Andrea approached Kevin. Kevin’s immediate response was very defensive,
stating that he was watching the videos during his lunch hour and thus was not subject to any arbitrary
company rules about what he could and could not watch. Andrea was puzzled, unsure of what to do, and
unsure how far she could go in either disciplining Kevin or getting him to stop watching his videos in the
workplace.
This put Andrea in a bind – she felt stuck in between what appeared to be a legitimate claim by an
employee wanting a safe and comfortable workspace, and another employee who claimed he was being
denied his rights to watch what he pleased, in private. She agonized over what to do next.
