An ethical dilemma I’ve faced at work deals with conflict of interest. When it comes to hiring new staff, my manager appreciates my feedback, however sometimes I find myself acting bias.

We’ve hired a few of my friends where I work, and sometimes I feel I act bias on their work ethic, I say I believe they are hardworking/responsible because I want them to have the best chances on getting the job. However I don’t truly know their work ethic/abilities. Most of my friends were able to prove to be good, however one friend… not so much.

I believe myself to be a people pleaser, and when it comes to my friends I hate to be apart of the reason they’re unsuccessful. My manager has reached out to me countless times to find recruits at my job. one time, I had a friend respond and they brought in their resume. From the beginning I was aware they had little drive for work – because I had to help them with starting their resume – however I had faith they would improve once they got the job. Sadly that was not true, still to this day they do the bare minimal, and request less shifts. I’ve spoken with my manager and they say my friend has caused many headaches for the shift schedule as well as chores around the establishment. I’ve reached out to my friend as well, to try and give reason to put more effort however they seem to be unphased by the chances of losing their position. I suppose after 2+ years they are still faithful to this job, even though with a lack in effort I should still appreciate how long they’ve been able to stick around.

After this experience with my friend I’ve now learned to be more cautious of who I recommend to my job and the words to use when talking to my manager about a new recruit. I suppose for future reference, Instead of sharing my bias I will state that it is because they are my friend or simply say “I don’t feel comfortable giving my opinion on that topic”.