Choice between ethics and my job
Being faced with the choice between my ethics and my job, I chose my ethics. Not everyone can just quit. Understood. Family, car payments, rent. I'm emtpy. I took off. Sorry boss.
THE STORY:
As a part time employee and senior designer at the engineering firm in Oakland, I had other jobs on my plate. Some call it outside work. Moonlighting. Boss knows it. That's how we met.
Background:
- I work part time. I do others stuff on the side. That's how I met my boss. He was my client and then I became his employee.
- In 5 yrs, my coworker brought 4 jobs to the engineering company. He knows people. Good networking guy.
- He was underpaid and wasn't given the involvement he was promised. When 5th job came along, he takes it himself and chooses not to share it to the company.
Bzzzz....bzzzz. (my cell is always on vibrate). Boss calls me on my day off and asks me a series of questions regarding a project I am working on. I happen to be building a model for one of his employees on an outside job. I tell him what he needs to know. We hang up.
Bzzz.....bzzz.
Brian: Hello?
Boss: Brian. What's the address of the project you are working on?
Brian: Sorry, I can't disclose that information Client privilage of confidentiality.
Boss: What? What do you mean?
Brian: When I did projects for you, I never told anyone about anything we were working on. I cannot disclose the address. I don't have any long term interest in this project. I worked as a consultant much like when I built a model for you before I started working in your office. I do not know the name of the client. I have never met the client.
Boss: I'm putting you on speaker phone here in the conference room. Gerald and Susan (names have been changed to protect the innocent/guilty) are here. What is the address of the project you are working on with Susan?
Brian: Sorry, I can't disclose that information.
Boss: I will talk to you later. Hangs up quickly.
Wow, did my boss just hang up on me? That was weird. Meeting continues in the office while I am away. Boss later tells me he understands people do outside work to make up for extra money they may need that they are not earning under his employment. Boss fires employee for lying about the situation during the conference.
I arrive at the office and tell the boss we should talk,
"I like working here. You're the boss and you have the right to fire me. But until you do, I plan to stay here. I feel caught in the middle and if you have any further questions about this project, I prefer that you direct them to Susan directly."
Boss tells me what happened at the meeting that day and how Susan was telling lies over and over. He needed me to confirm the lies. I didn't give him the ammo he needed. We laughed about the crazy lies she told and we shake hands. Boss says he feels like it's a girlfriend/boyfriend relationship and he needs us to be apart until further notice. I'm on suspension. We agree that he will call me in two days to let me know if my suspension will be permanent or if I will be invited to continue working.
Mom: Suspension? Does he (boss) think you're in highschool???
Brian: I guess.
Boss does not call me two days later as promised. He didn't forget. He expects the little employee to call the big boss and ask if he can work again. Dream on. I make no such choice. Monday. I step into the office.
"Thank you for the opportunity to work here, but I think it's time that I leave." He doesn't say much other than that he hopes maybe we can work again in the future. Neither of us are breaking our bridges. I ask him if he can verify my employment (for licensing purposes). I ask if I can hop onto the computer to calculate my hours. He says to go right ahead. 10 minutes later the paperwork is done, I thank the other employees, shake their hands and leave.
Another job gone.
$59,000 annual full time salary gone. I'm back at $0. What now?
posted by Business Puberty @ 5:18 PM
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