Ethics and boundaries,..

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   saltposted 15 years ago

   Ive had a big lesson today in Ethics and boundaries. I was told by an employer to accept more per hour than I had worked. I was told it was between him, me and the gate post. I even signed the timesheet and went to go home. I thought on the way about the words between me and the gatepost. I wish to note here, I just started work with a charity - and charities should be transparent in my view. I now feel a bit iffy about working for them too.
   
   It might not be easy, especially when your income is in question, but there is nothing between me and the gate post. There is no conversation that is just between you and me, except of course in a journalistic sense. Then ethical choices change.
   
   I DID GO TO THE EMPLOYER AND WHO SAID MAYBE HE MADE A MISTAKE...which people do, yet I feel unvalidated and a little bullied.
   
   This then stretched to that one or two photos that I go to from google images, that at the time I got them, I thought I was allowed to use gratis. I now have to contact the photographer and ask for approval to use and really bring my ethical line right back in.
   
   I suddenly noticed how easy it is to slip - and how important it is to bring yourself back to the centre. The tennis is on and its a bit like being a tennis player. You have to keep the ball within the lines, sometimes you have to be your own umpire and that takes strength and character. Even the highest professional player has line beeps, 3 umpires and video replays.

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      TerryGlposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      The way I see it, your employer now owns you. He has had you collaborate in signing a false document saying you worked more per hour then you worked. To me, that is fraud, is it not?
      
      Based upon this premise, I see your employer is employing a tactic similar to bullying and harassment. He has set you up for one mighty big fall and therefore you are trusting him way beyond any boundaries for him to "keep your secret".
      
      Its a typical pattern such as the abuser in a relationship. They get you onside, they hold something over you and make you rely solely on them and before you know it "cappow" your copping it.
      
      I do not like your employer at all.
      
      You are now sharing a very bitter secret between each other and I wonder how long it will take for him to call in the favor, how long will it be before he blackmails you. You know, "hi darling, come here for a second, oh no you say, but what about that time you ...."
      
      I think you get my drift.

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   saltposted 15 years ago

   Is noone talking to me.. arent I interesting enough???? Or is noone interested in ethics and boundaries?

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3. 85

   Marisa Wrightposted 15 years ago

   Salt, I guess it all comes down to your values. 
   
   Personally, if I do something I know is wrong, my conscience won't let me get away with it, even if no one else knows.  I try to be honest and fair, not because I'm a goody-two-shoes, but because I know I'll feel rotten if I cheat!
   
   Not so long ago, I had an email exchange with a Hubber whose Hubs are full of copyright images.  I explained the rules to her, and she said she would do the right thing in future - but she said it would be impossible to track down the owners of all the pictures she'd already stolen, so she wasn't going to do anything about them.
   
   I thought that was pretty disgraceful and showed a complete lack of respect for her fellow creative artists.  But her conscience obviously had no problem with it.
   
   Oh, and the silence is probably because not many other people are in our time zone!

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   Dame Scribeposted 15 years ago

   I agree with TerryGI, you are getting yourself into bad situation. I would check your employers manual regarding employment standards and if necessary, speak to somebody in employment law unless you want to defraud the charity and take the risk it will never come out or the consequences if it is revealed.

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5. 60

   saltposted 15 years ago

   I rang him when I got home and told him to pay me the correct hours and change the form back. He asked me to keep the discussion between him and me and not tell his boss. I said yes to that one, as I felt on the spot. I then recalled the finance person from the other part of the organisation as I had not promised not to tell them and told them. They said, well maybe he made a mistake.
   
   I learnt. My signature is important. Only sign what is true. I understood the pressure, the wording, between me and the gatepost and keep this between you and me - and I made it clear nothing was between him me and the gatepost. And nothing was between him and me.
   
   I am a bit disappointed that the employer was defensive of him in some respects,as it is a form of bullying and I am uncomfortable working for them any more. It maybe an incentive to concerntrate on writing.

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6. 60

   saltposted 15 years ago

   I am putting Monday aside to go through all my photos and write a copyright related letter requesting useage or I will remove what I have used. I will fully acknowlegde the photo source.
   
   I had intended to do this before, but had put it off. As originally, I believed google images to be free photos. I checked in the forum and was intending to chase images sources .. yet, had put it off and put it off. Its now time to do the real work.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Salt, I hope you didn't feel I was having a go at your regarding the photos. It was clear from your original post that your use of a mere handful of these photos was enough to prick your conscience, and I know you'll do the right thing when you get time!
      
      I get all my images by doing an Advanced Search on Flickr, ticking "Creative Commons" and "for commercial use",and that brings up a huge range of photos.  I have yet to find a subject I can't find a photo for.  All you have to do is include a hyperlink to the photographer's photostream in your Hub(I put them at the end in the credits).  It doesn't take long to find some good images, might be quicker than trying to get permission for the ones you already have.

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         saltposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         thankyou... thats my job today, to start changing photos - I have found some fantastic ones.. thankyou

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   The Ropeposted 15 years ago

   Your employer probably feels he is doing a good thing helping his employees who are earning marginal wages but he doesn't have the consciousness that you do.  It’s probable that he has become jaded over time and has lost his passion for why he is working at this charity.  What to do?  Depends on what you want the outcome to be.  Personally, I’d probably look for another job and once found, inform your boss on the last day exactly why you are leaving .   Have a closed door, quiet, helpful talk with him.   He’ll scoff but over time, he’ll remember your compassion, your justice and will likely come to honor you and the idea you were attempting to get across much more than he would have otherwise. Ethically, you come out the winner. Talking to someone in employment law is a good thing but more so to ensure that a credible person has your story.  If there are repercussions later, the boss won't be able to backtrack as easily.

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8. 60

   saltposted 15 years ago

   He filled in the time sheet - its in his writing. I called and asked him to pay me the correct hours. And that nothing was between me, him and the gatepost!

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9. 86

   rebekahELLEposted 15 years ago

   good for you for calling him back. ethics is a big topic now with employers/employees.
   
   with the rise of people online making money or attempting to make money, ethics have become a huge concern. even with sites like this where virtually anyone can write an article about anything, often with no knowledge of the subject, not citing any research used for articles, giving out medical advice not having any medical degrees, all for money. sometimes when doing a google search on a topic, I have to go to second or third page to get past all of the articles written for google ads. it's very frustrating.
   thanks for letting me ramble, good to hear you spoke up.

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    saltposted 15 years ago

    thankyou, it was quite confusing and I thought about it this morning, I had been giving him my power, because I wanted my job.

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