Workplace Responsibilities and Rights

“One final question. As far as you know, have you any family history of loose-cannonism or whistle-blowing?”

Confidentiality

• Keeping secret all information that the employer or client may wish to protect from rivals (proprietary information or trade secrets)

• Has limits: e.g., when confidentiality is invoked to hide misdeeds

Confidentiality: Justification

• Autonomy – ability of individuals and corporations to control information about themselves

• Without confidentiality, could not maintain privacy and self-interest insofar as it involves privacy

• Ethical theories recognize “rights” to autonomy, “duties” to respect autonomy, the “utility” of protecting autonomy, or the “virtue” of respect for others

Confidentiality

• Changing Jobs– Obligation to protect confidential information

does not cease with job change– Obligation may be spelled out in employment

contract– Obligation must be balanced against personal

right to seek career advancement

Conflict of Interest

• Occurs when employees have interests that if pursued could keep them from meeting their obligations to serve the interests of their employer or client

• Can be in form of – Gifts, bribes, or kickbacks (“A gift is not a bribe if you can eat, drink, or smoke it

is a day”). Sometimes company guidelines are elaborate– Investment interest in competitor’s business– Moonlighting (e.g., if it harms performance)– Insider information

Professional Rights of Engineers

• Right of Professional Conscience – the right to autonomous judgment in morally complex decisions.

• Right of Conscientious Refusal – the right to refuse to engage in unethical behavior. May be limited in borderline cases.

• Right to Recognition – the right to monetary and nonmonetary forms of recognition for their accomplishments. (important in promoting skill development)

Employee Rights

• Privacy – the right to control access to and use of information about oneself

• Equal Opportunity – the right to advance without discrimination based on one’s race, sex, age, politics, or religious outlook

Whistleblowing

• Whistleblowing - when an employee or former employee conveys information about a significant moral problem to someone in a position to take action on the problem, and does so outside regular in-house channels

• Can be external whistleblowing (outside the organization) or internal whistleblowing (inside the organization)

• Can be open whistleblowing (identify openly revealed) or anonymous

Commonsense Procedures• Insure that actual or potential harm is serious and has been adequately

documented• Proceed in a tactful low-key manner. Both informal and formal conventional

avenues should be exhausted on a timely (prompt) basis• Be accurate in your claims with documentation of facts and events

surrounding your actions• Avoid isolation - consult with trusted colleagues, professional societies, and a

lawyer• Evaluate personal sacrifice and risk to family and fellow workers

Loyalty

When is whistleblowing an act of disobedience and disloyalty to an organization?

Types of Loyalty

• Agency loyalty - filling one’s “contractual” duties to an employer, regardless of motive.

• Attitude loyalty - meeting one’s moral duties to a group or organization willingly, with personal attachment and affirmation, and with a reasonable degree of trust.

Collegiality and Respect for Authority

• Collegiality - the central elements include– respect for colleagues, valuing their professional expertise and devotion to

the social good– common commitment to the moral ideals of the profession– connectedness through participation in cooperative projects based on mutual

obligations and support

• Respect for executive authority - honoring institutional right given to a person to exercise power based on the resource of an organization

Summary• Loyalty, collegiality, and respect for authority are not excuses or

justification for shielding irresponsible conduct• Whistleblowing is a serious matter that deserves careful reflection• Maintaining confidentiality and avoiding harmful conflicts of

interest are important aspects of teamwork and trustworthiness• The engineer’s autonomous moral judgement is fundamental to

identifying morally reasonable courses of action in the workplace