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I recently got prospects of an offer from an organization in the media fraternity. The offer will sound good when it's finally made. However the organization has for years been exploited for defending ethics that are not necessarily in line with what I hold dear. To most people I interact with, this is the same feeling, and today, I set out to look at the comments and reviews they get online from other people in the public, it's negative.

As an IT guy, whilst working in the background and not doing front person work, I know that here and there I may have to post, code or hide something ethically inconsistent.

It's not safe to air my divergent views now or really ever, and thus my plan is to try to abstain from having to throughout my tenure there. Is this workable and can I still be able to have a professional working relationship, if anyone has ever worked in such a position, and how do you handle issues where you have to go against your conscience?

Update

  1. The organization itself is not founded to dish propaganda that's negative to my values, the word I used is it is "exploited". Even some (actually close to all, except for a few) employees would share my ideals. It just so happens that it's "exploited" / used by some individuals who are currently in high authority now. I would be proud to work for such an organization apart from the deviance they are made to do at times.
  2. I asked a question here, concerning where I'm currently working, I resolved that I would stay until I find a better job, what prompted me to look for a job is the conditions at my current one, and because of the scarcity of good paying jobs as mentioned in this question, I'm weighing the options of who would be the better devil (provided I get ways to best manage the potential employer): What if a boss requires supervision?.
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    I'm voting to close this as opinion-based as how you deal with this is an incredibly personal decision. Some people would not be prepared to do this at all, others will be able to just ignore the bigger picture of what their employer is doing.
    – Philip Kendall
    Commented Sep 30, 2016 at 15:17
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    @PhilipKendall, I disagree that it is entirely opinion-based. I even answered it referencing research. I think it's an important question to ask and answer.
    – Chris G
    Commented Sep 30, 2016 at 15:26
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    "how do you handle issues where you have to go against your conscience" simple: I don't.
    – Lumberjack
    Commented Sep 30, 2016 at 15:33
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    Vote to Close as Opinion based, as individuals, we all draw our own line in the sand we can't know the right answer for someone else.
    – cdkMoose
    Commented Sep 30, 2016 at 15:37
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    I don't know why this question was put on hold in the first place. it is in my opinion a good question. Vote to re-open.
    – Nobody
    Commented Oct 1, 2016 at 15:41

2 Answers 2

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Advice purely from personal experience - if you're concerned about it even at this stage then don't take the job. When you're regularly asked to do things that cross your red lines you will have the choice of singling yourself out as an unwilling employee (which is bad for your career) or undermining your own self-image and happiness (which is bad for you).

For me it was not about the money, it was simply taking the first job going when laid off by a previous employer. Years later I still feel like I sold a bit of my soul for fourteen months until I could get out.

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    More importantly, ethically dodgy companies tend to do ethically dodgy things to everyone, including their employees.
    – Amy Blankenship
    Commented Sep 30, 2016 at 20:47
  • @AmyBlankenship that's a good point
    – Pilling Fine
    Commented Oct 1, 2016 at 10:33
  • Julia, thank you for your advice from personal experience, indeed, reasons vary for why at some point we take the decision to accept such offers. Mine is a couple of issues which frankly, are also not as good to cope with.
    – Pilling Fine
    Commented Oct 1, 2016 at 10:35
  • I ended up not taking the job, I'm happy I made that decision.
    – Pilling Fine
    Commented Jan 18, 2017 at 7:30
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If you have the luxury, wait for a better fit. Otherwise, hold your nose and take the job.

It might be worth watching the video/looking into the research on motivation being driven not by money (good offer) but by Autonomy, Mastery, and Purpose. If the company's ethics and vision don't match your own, you're far less likely to be fully effective, satisfied, and happy. Your mental state and career would likely suffer as a result.

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  • Chris G, thank you for answering with an open mind, I probably will "hold [my] nose and take the job, my reasons are attached in the update to question". Thank you.
    – Pilling Fine
    Commented Oct 1, 2016 at 10:37
  • @PillingFine, hopefully it will work out well and you won't have to feel like you're holding your nose for long. Congratulations on the offer and pending new position.
    – Chris G
    Commented Oct 2, 2016 at 17:15

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