ETHICS Q & A

Recently Posted Question:

I have this new job, I just got it a few weeks ago. I like the job so far. My previous company(before this new job) wants to me to train some people in their company about a program that I have developed when I was still working at that company. This training will take only 2 to 3 days but it will be done on my free time (weekends). Of course I will get a consultation fee. If I accept it will it be unethical? Will it affect my employer's trust in me if they will know about it? Should I talk to my supervisor? Of course I am new with the company and I don't want to ruin their trust in me.

Response:

Vic,

There are at least two important moral issues at work in your question. The first has to do with what philosophers call respect for autonomy; the second has to do with the right of an employer to know about the activities of employees outside of the work place. I will talk about each of these in a moment. Before I do so, however, I think it is worth pointing out an (arguably) non-moral part of your situation. One way of answering the question would be by presenting an evaluation of the risks involved that would take into account the odds of your getting caught, the consequences of getting caught, the consequences of telling your employer beforehand, etc. I take it that such an answer, however, would not get at the moral crux of the problem. It would simply tell you what is, materially, in your best interest. While this sort of calculation might play an important role in our moral evaluation of your potential actions, it cannot, in itself, decide the matter. The moral questions arise from our wanting to know things like just what place such calculations ought to have in our decisions about what to do.

Now, the moral question here seems to be whether you are (morally) obliged to tell your current employer about the offer you received from your past employer, and that you are considering taking that offer. I think the first thing to ask is whether the reason that you are disinclined to tell your current employer about what you are thinking of doing is that you think/worry that they will disapprove. If this is reason, you face a dilemma; either you think that your current employer will disapprove for a good reason, or that they will disapprove for a bad (or no) reason. As it turns out, I think, morally speaking, neither of these provide you with a clearly sufficient reason to withhold the information from your employer. Let me now discuss why.

Suppose you are worried that your current employer has a good reason for not wanting you to go work for your old employer for a few days. Well, then your not telling your current employer what you are doing is just away of avoiding having to face the fact that there is good reason not to do what you are doing: i.e., that is stands a very good chance of being the wrong thing to do.
On the other hand, suppose that you are worried that your current employer has only a bad reason (or no reason at all) for not wanting you to go to work for your old employer. In that case, your avoiding telling him is a way of avoiding having to explain to him that his reason is no good. Presumably, this is either because you would rather not have to explain this to him, or because you think he will be unresponsive. In this case, by not telling your employer, you are robbing him of the chance to see the flaw in his reasoning. You are treating him either as a non-rational being or not bothering to engage with his rationality. Both of these are instances of what philosopher call a failure to respect your employer’s autonomy: his ability to engage in rational behavior. According to certain moral systems (e.g., Kant’s), respecting autonomy is the very foundation of morality.

Now, there is one final consideration here that is relevant, but which we have not yet discussed. Up to this point, I had been speaking to your possible motives for withholding this information from your employer. That is certainly one place to look when investigating the morality of certain actions. Another place, however, is in the particular relationship that you bear to your employer. For instance, do you have an obligation to tell you employer about what you do outside the workplace? Do you have a right not to tell him? As far as these types of concerns go, a lot will depend on the specific details of your situation, such as the type of relationship you have with your current employer, whether or not there are any mitigating legal obligations, etc.
Good question.

These essays are intended to foster debate and discussion on the issue addressed. This essay does not necessarily reflect the views of the Parr Center for Ethics or any of its fellows.

We invite you to join the discussion. Please visit our blog at:
http://parrcenterforethics.blogspot.com/