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Should I Have Kept My Nose Out of It?
I work in an office where I see employees abuse the time they take off, say, for lunch. Instead of taking one hour, they take two, and falsify their time sheet. I felt it was my responsibility to say something, so I brought this to my boss’ attention, and he spoke with the employee in question and his supervisor. I was not asked to attend the “meeting”. After they met, the boss told me everything was ok, that the employee I “busted” would report to HIS supervisor (they cover each other if needed, by the way). I was given the cold shoulder by the employee for about three weeks, then things got back to normal. Per our company’s policy, it is against the rules to falsify our time sheet, plus a “whistle blower” shall not be reprimanded… I really was fighting with myself over this, even thought of quitting, BUT we have rules to follow. Was I wrong to tell on him? How can I be a responsible person if I had not said anything?
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Yes Should have kept your nose out.
You chose to act as a whistleblower. Did think your co-worker was going to thank you? Your managers need to be more proactive in dealing with this problem
Eric Thom | 11 months, 3 weeks ago
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Mrs.
I agree that you should have said something. I also agree with Col. Pratt that you might have chosen to inform the wrongdoer first. It takes an extra amount of courage to confront someone face-to-face, and there are other options, like a letter. Giving a wrong doer a chance to address their wrongdoing before turning them in is a very humane gesture.
Personal responsibility, we all have to find a way to make it a priority.
S Hall | 11 months, 3 weeks ago
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Stakeholder's view
We all hold a responsibility to the company we work for, either by written contract or because we accept a pay check. I am a manager in a company where our employees also profit share. If someone at our company were to take time or material from our company they would be stealing from their “friends”/co-workers as well as the managers and owners. As a “stakeholder” in my company I would be glad that another “stakeholder” had said something to management. Management is trained to handle these situations (no laughing here). Overhead comes out of everyone’s pocket, not just the owner’s. As a stakeholder we are just more aware of who we would be stealing from as it is more direct. Of course this assumes that the owners are not stealing from the employees. Employees that are underpaid, undervalued and abused are more likely to take time or materials and feel it is justified; neither is right.
Marsha Whipple | 11 months, 3 weeks ago
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Not in this economy
Sorry to say, but bosses who do nothing about things like this don’t want you to point out the problem. Like it or not, the manager probably was well aware of the employee’s behavior and chose not to act for any number of reasons. When you told on the other person you put the manager in a position where you forced them to do something they didn’t want to do in the first place. So now you have 2 people who don’t like you.
While we’d all like to believe that smart, hard-working, diligent employees are rewarded for their efforts. Management prefers average workers who are pleasant over excellent workers who are outspoken. In this economy, the best thing you can do is keep quiet and be nice.
NC Worker | 11 months, 3 weeks ago
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Should I have kept my nose out of It?
I’ve been in similar situations and found that unless it involves me I just don’t mind. Unfortunately, not everyone feels the same way. Management should notice if an employee isn’t getting their work done because they take 2 hour lunches or too many breaks. However, if the work gets done efficiently and correctly, why should it matter to anyone if a 2 hour lunch is taken?
I used to come in late so I could get my child off to school in the morning. When I got to work I did the job of 3 people. I never minded, neither did my boss because I was a happier employee they never complained about my hours.
Phyllis Campos | 11 months, 3 weeks ago
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An Analyst
I would first have confronted the individual to ensure that was indeed what he or she was doing (falsifying time)… Being late.. They could have been working at home during the weekend to make up for any time lost during the day.. You just don’t know and shouldn’t blow a whistle until you have all the facts.
Analyst | 11 months, 3 weeks ago
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agreed!
I think what you did was absolutely the right thing. The same thing was happening at my work only in addition to the extended lunch people were coming in late and leaving early, while leaving their lights and monitors on so people would think they were still somewhere in the office.
I brought this to the attention of my boss and then HR when nothing happened. Nothing still happened to these employees….until we started laying off people…they were the first to go and I didn’t feel bad for them. Unfortunately the 5th round of layoff got me too and I was there at 8 and left at 7 every night.
Kharma will come back to people but I also learned that maybe if I would have picked up their slack and not outright tattled on them and instead focused on “taking” the work they were leaving behind I might still be employed. All I can say is that will they get a recommendation from their boss? Probably not. Also because the company didn’t want to talk to these employees about their behavior, it persisted for a year or better, costing the company time and money it couldn’t afford.
Kharma even came back to the company as I doubt they will survive this recession.
Meghan | 11 months, 3 weeks ago
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Finally, someone who is responsible!
Yes! Glad you said something. As a high school teacher I see this type of irresponsibility all of the time and more times than not, it’s because of the example that’s set at home! I wish more people would hold others accountable for their actions, yes it is your business/problem because this type of behavior is becoming an epidemic in our society and in order to change it we have to take a stand against it!
Jennifer Jensen | 11 months, 3 weeks ago
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Keep in mind how it reflect back on you ...
I had a similar situation happen. The person was actually written up from other peoples complaints and he thought it was me and was treating me horrible. So I went to management, who agreed with me about the employee actions. Long story short I was viewed in a negative light the next couple of days and was told to give him “some breathing room”. I have learned when bringing things to managements attention you have to be prepared to be viewed as the “complainer”.
SunShine | 11 months, 3 weeks ago
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Working at home doesn't mean you an falsify your t
That would be accounted for differently if you were working at home, it would not go on your daily timecard for payroll purposes.
Jennifer Jensen | 11 months, 3 weeks ago
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