Ethics Crisis Confessions Category RSS feedWhat's the most unethical thing you've ever done in business? What's the most unethical thing that's been done to you? We're not talking about taking home the office pencils.
Have you ever done anything like this?: Or has anyone done it to you?
- Deceived a friend to win an account
- Arranged to take several clients with you before you left a job
- Allowed someone else to take the blame for a mistake you made
- Gotten information about a competitor's plan and used it to win the business you both were pitching
Confess it here anonymously (in 250 words or less.) EthicsCrisis.com readers will rate your confession on a scale of one to ten (from always acceptable to never acceptable)
Whether or not you make a confession to make, please click on the word "comments" under any confession and tell us why you voted the way you did, and/or what you think of the average rating others have given the confession.
Go ahead, get involved. Tell your story here. What's the most unethical thing you've ever done or been done in by in business? (Please scroll down to read and rate current confessions.) Remember: ethics questions must relate to business situations.
“It is the confession, not the priest, that gives us absolution” - Oscar Wilde
We gave mortgages to people who couldn't pay
I used to work for a sub-prime lender. I would look the other way while our LOs and managers would falsify documents, create them from scratch (including W2s), and lie on loan applications. We did a lot of good for some people (self-employed people, especially), but we really screwed a lot of others. Particularly the people in fixed-rate loans that were desperate for cash; we'd take them from a 6.25% fixed, to a 8.75% ARM w/2 points. I'm really glad to have left that industry (and banking in general), but in light of the current economic crisis I always feel a little guilty.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
4734
I set up my boss so I could have his job
I anonymously made allegations through the business practices anonymous 800 # that my boss was hiring vendors based on favors. He was investigated and consequently fired even though none of the allegations were proved. I was promoted to his position after he was fired.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
6
Vote total:
6312
I Lied to Get New Business
In an effort to obtain business from an existing client I claimed we were working with several clients (6) in the same industry. One of the clients I listed is not currently a client but one we have spoken with for two years now. Turns out the person I am selling to knows the CEO of the company I'm talking to. I realize I misrepresented the truth. I lied.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
6
Vote total:
8585
Clueless!
I had received an e-mail from an account manager whom I loathed for her inability to do her job correctly, even at the most simple level. After receiving this ridiculous e-mail from her, I wanted to send it to a peer of mine whom I had vented to to witness firsthand just how bad she really was. I flamed intensely on the forward, and then sent it off -- only to realize that I had REPLIED to the e-mail, not forwarded it.
Continue reading "Clueless!" »
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
19138
If It's Not There It Didn't Happen, Right?
I got an email attachment at work that had information about salaries in my department that I knew was proprietary. But I was up for a raise, so I printed it out and then deleted it from my email. Otherwise, it would be backed up that night if left online and then other people in my department would have access to information that gave me a wage negotiating advantage.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
19755
I Stole, Blamed Someone Else, Boss Deserved It
After putting up with former boss' continuous temper tantrums and abusive attitude, I pretended to become a born again Christian to fully gain his trust. Then I volunteered to work late nights bringing the pricing spreadsheets up to date. I'd usually be alone and cram the trunk of my car full of expensive gear from the warehouse. A few weeks later one of the employees was busted for selling warehouse goods out the back door. When they audited, they found all the stuff I scammed, but blamed it on him instead. I got away with 10K worth of top end hardware. Boss deserved a lot worse after the crap I had to deal with.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
11891
We Totally Fabricated Our Numbers
At the magazine I worked for, we posted demographics on our website that were totally fabricated in order to sell more advertising at higher prices. Our real circulation numbers were less than a tenth of what we told advertisers. When we accepted inserts printed by the advertiser, we would simply throw the extra thousands and thousands of them away.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
6
Vote total:
11583
We Paid a Rival's Employee for Information
One of my best executives paid an employee of another company that we're highly competitive with for information. I knew what was going on, and that it was probably unethical, but I had a buisiness to run - and we ended up with a much better pitch.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
11483
I'm Going After My Boss's Clients
As soon as I am leaving this job, I'm going after all my boss's clients. I never signed a non-compete agreement with her that went beyond termination of my employment for her, so all her clients are fair game. And I know I'll do a lot better than she did.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
11759
Do You Think This is Exploitative? Or Clever?
In light of airport travel restrictions, my company is quickly gearing up to sell kits at airport newstands containing essential items, like toothpaste, toothbrush, hair combs, tweezers, and other items that can't be taken on planes because of increased security, but are not provided in hotel rooms. Travelers can buy them when they get off the plane at their destination airport. They are going to sell the kits at sky-high prices, pun intended. Is it unethical to jack up the price and take advantage of this situation.
Note: You can not only vote, but also comment on this confession and all others on the Ethics Crisis blog. Click on "comment" below to enter your opinion.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
11734
Vendor Sent Me on Vacation
A vendor vying for a big contract from my company sent me on vacation. But I gave the contract to someone else.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
11205
I doctored an email, blamed it on technology
Our company was getting raked over the coals for far too long and I was tired of being the punching bag for the client as the account lead. We screwed something up (minor, overpaid for a budget line item that was outside of their internal policy).
I took an existing email from the sourcing department and changed the wording of the email to suggest we had been given authorization...and sent it back to the client, under the guise of an acceptable email. ..the discrepancy was noticed and I lied, blaming it on a glitch in technology that sent 2 different versions of a similar reply.
Continued to lie when the Director of Marketing called me on the discrepancy and only came clean to my boss (2 months later) when our agency was about to get fired.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
6
Vote total:
10184
I Ignore That My Friend's in a Sleazy Business
I found out that a guy I've been good friends with for a long time actually works in a loan business that preys on the poor. Our wives are friends, our kids are buddies. We so close that we vacation together. I feel like, ethically, I should end the friendship, but I am just going to make like I still don't know what he does.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
11216
I make money on business travel.
I had to fly to meet a client in another city. A client in a different city asked me to meet with them too. Even though I got a discounted ticket allowing me to visit both cities, I billed both clients for the entire fare. In the course of a year, I make enough to pay for my vacation travel.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
10698
His Neck or Mine
I was out of work for a while before I started my new job. A week after I started, my boss told me to send a written performance warning to a man I now supervise. It would be his second warning, and if he screwed up again, he'd be fired. I didn't want to do it because I really didn't know enough about his record. He's in his 50s, and he's been there 5 years. I know it'll be hard for him to get another job. I didn't want to risk my job, so I did it.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
10943
Masquerade
I posed as a potential customer in order to get pricing information from my competitors...
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
10437
I Blew It, He Paid
When I worked on a big project with a large team we made, and didn't notice, a huge mistake. My boss blamed my co-worker, but I'm pretty sure the mistake was my fault. I don't like the person who took the fall, so I kept quiet.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
10294
Shoplifter? What Shoplifter?
I work in IT for a company with hundreds of retail locations. I was walking through one of our stores the other day and I saw a man stuffing a tie into his pocket. I kept going without reporting him as a shoplifter. Would you have called security?
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
10528
An Inside Job
I got a $35 million contract from a company because a VP showed me another vendor's bid and gave me the opportunity to improve on it so I would get the business.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
10514
Bribed a government official?
Our company paid a substantial "consulting fee" to an official in another country. We were told by many people that we'd never get a contract that could be worth millions to us without an official's influence.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
6
Vote total:
10222
Time's Up On Kindness
To help a young woman with whom I'd had a fling, I wrote her a letter of recommendation that said she'd held a certain position, when actually she was a secretary. The letter did help her to move up in her career. I hadn't seen her in years when a recruiter called me and asked me about the woman's performance in the job I'd said she had. Not wanting to be part of a conspiracy any longer, I said I couldn't remember the woman.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
6
Vote total:
10128
I'm Really Lazy
I had a car pick me up pretty much every morning for two years at home and take me the 3 miles to the office and charged it to work.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
6
Vote total:
10073
Dumped the Files, Blamed the Audit Agency
We had an audit coming up and some of our files would probably look pretty sloppy. Nothing illegal, just missing paperwork and proper documentation. We left the files where the audit agency asked us to leave them. I came back later, found the worst ones and tossed them in the dumpster. Then I blamed the audit agency for losing them.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
6
Vote total:
10364
My Boss Takes Credit for My Ideas
My boss is always taking credit for my ideas when we present to clients. I'm sick of it. I called a client after he took credit for my idea in a meeting with them and told them it was my idea. I feel like that might have been unethical. And I think it also makes me look paranoid. Is there a smart and ethical way to get credit for my ideas and not lose my job?
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
10127
We paid for new business in another country
Our company paid a substantial "consulting fee" to an official in another country. We were told by many people that we'd never get a contract (that could be worth millions to us) without an official's influence. We could have stood on principle and refused. But we paid, and we got the account.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
10684
Covering for a friend
I got a good friend of mine a consulting contract with my company. He's very capable, but I know he's been slacking off. I also know he's got a lot going on outside of work, so I've covered for him several times. Now my boss is asking me if he should renew my friend's contract. I am going to say no because I don't want to risk my job. But I feel like I'm screwing my buddy.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
10083
Paid Bonus For Competitors' Proprietary Info
I hired, and gave a large signing bonus to, a key employee of our main competitor so I could get the details on their proprietary process.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
10019
Promoted My Wife's Best Friend's Husband
I promoted an employee whose wife is my wife's best friend instead of another employee who actually was more qualified and has been with the company longer. I believe the man I promoted is more likely to be loyal because of this friendship.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
10083
Took Friends Out on My New Biz Expense Account
I often take my wife and our best friends out to dinner and a show or a game on my expense account and say I was trying to get one of them to become a client. We can easily spend $1000 in an evening.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
12238
Half for Me, Half for the YMCA
The YMCA allows people to pay a fee to use the facilities for one-day. Back then I think we charged $8 per person for a full day's pass. We sold around 10 day passes a day, or we could have sold 10 per day. For two years, I took half of them and never put them in the system and pocketed the money.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
10998
Pocketed Cash and Blamed It on Another Office Thief
After discovering one of our new-hires was printing heself some money orders, I pocketed some extra cash assuming it would be blamed on her. Of course it was.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
11349
I Stole My Girlfriend's Ideas from a Business Pitch
I helped my girlfriend write a pitch for what would have been the biggest account her company ever won. Half way through, I learned that my company was also pitching the client. I told them some of what she was proposing. I didn't tell her my company pitched too until after both pitches had been sent. I felt like a heel, but it was just business.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
11209
I Bought Software on the Company Account After I Left
Left a company on less than amicable terms. Reminded them on the way out that I would no longer need my company CompuServe account and they should discontinue it. Several months later, it was still running, and I used it to register some shareware--two or three apps, total price less than $50. (Subscription was about $10/month.) A month or two later, they finally discontinued payment on the CompuServe account.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
6
Vote total:
9225
Ethics confession: My boss steals from petty cash. I say nothing.
My boss regularly steals from petty cash: $10, $20 there. I've seen him do it for years, and I look the other way. It's not my money, and I'm not a rat.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
10802
Snuck in and then won the $300+ door prize
I went to an industry event and didn't pay to get in because nobody was at the door when I arrived.
I put my business card in a door prize drawing and won an electronic device worth more than $300. It's something I've wanted for a long time.
Of course I billed my company for the cost of admission. For a minute, I felt like I should mail the event office a check. But the feeling passed pretty fast.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
10129
My expense account is my second income
Thruout my career, I was known for living cheap on the road and not abusing expenses. No one ever knew that no matter who I worked for, I was an expert on making an expense account a second income.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
10446
Took the clients with me
Before I quit my job, I let all the clients I served know that I was starting my own company and made deals to take several of them with me. I know it hurt the company, but I brought in several of those clients and never got a percentage of the fees they paid.
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
9763
Nobody Really Cares
After my manager dissed me, i would log on to the company system using his name and order equipment for myself. -- the more expensive the beter.Stuff I always wanted but coulod never afford.
I'd get in real early and pick up the packages. The shipping guys didn't care and looked the other way. Anytime anone crossed me, I'd start ordering stuff.l I've done it for years, for stuf worth thousands. It's probably not ethical, but it i very satisfying
Rate this confession
Always Acceptable
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10
Never Acceptable
Current average rating:
5
Vote total:
9763
Permalink
Email this
