Fair wages and generous tips

A waiter paid $2.13 an hour is as vulnerable as a salesperson who lives almost exclusively from commissions. Neither can earn a living without the tips or the commissions. In good times, that might not be a problem. In a downturn, that financial pressure will often lead them to engage in wrongdoing.

A recent study of “tipped service workers” show that many do not enforce COVID-19 safety measures at their bar or restaurant for fear of losing their tips (the study also shows in increase in harassment of such workers). In an economy where tip workers have lost half their income because fewer people go out to eat, workers cannot afford to lose their tips. Even if this means putting themselves and others at risk.

So when a patron gets up from their table to go to the bathroom and doesn’t wear their mask, the waiter reluctantly looks the other way. Or, worse, when a patron asks his server to take off her mask so he can decide how much to tip her (gasp!), she puts her health, and other people’s, at risk. According to the CDC, adults who had contracted COVID-19 were twice as likely as virus-free adults to have recently dined at a restaurant (source).

A big part of the solution is to pay employees a fair wage, so they don’t feel pressured to break the rules. A salesperson who can pay the rent is less likely to forge the signature of a customer on a fake contract to make his monthly commission. A waiter who can keep the heat on this winter is more likely to keep her mask on too.

And for goodness’ sake, let’s tip generously.

Don’t lose your patience

I wrote 140 posts so far this year.

Curious about what single post had the most views in this year of pandemic and social injustice, I was surprised when my stats showed a 2017 entry, which was viewed twice as often as my most popular post from 2020.

In this post on stoic patience, I quote Marcus Aurelius’ advice that we should live life truthfully and rightly, and be patient with those who don’t.

2020 has indeed been a year when many have suffered, and in some cases died, because of the lies and wrongdoings of a few. In the face of injustice, many lose patience. But losing patience comes at a cost. Suffering and injustice should strengthen our resolve, not diminish our patience. It should propel us into just action, not into other forms of injustice.

Marcus would remind himself every morning that he would meet, in the course of his day, people that are rude and selfish and lying. He knew that a world without jerks is impossible. And so he simply accepted this reality and prepared himself to respond with kindness.

And so must we.

Let’s end 2020, and start 2021, with more truth and kindness and patience.

Breaking the rules

Today you might be sitting quietly by yourself and have this strange idea about doing something wrong. You’ll probably dismiss the idea quickly.

Or an acquaintance might suggest that you do something wrong. You’ll probably politely decline.

Or your boss might ask you to do something wrong. That will be uncomfortable.

Or the law might ask you to do something wrong.

Today in 1955, the law asked James. F. Blake to use his police powers as a bus driver to sign a warrant for the arrest of Rosa Park after she refused to give up her seat to a white man. To be fair, Blake did not hesitate. Twelve years earlier, Blake had made Parks disembark after she entered his bus from the front door and paid her fare; he wanted her to enter from the back door. But not all bus drivers agreed with the law. What were they supposed to do? What would you have done?

Today we have laws that separate children from their parents at border crossings. We have laws that criminalize sharing our food with the homeless. Perhaps you have rules in your office that are unfair.

Will you enforce them?

Time to think about a mandatory vaccination at work

If you work for a company that has a Code of Ethics, chances are your employer promises to create a safe working environment for you.

This means clear paths (no tripping hazards), low-noise environment, safeguards on the machines (so you don’t lose fingers) and a no-alcohol/drug policy – among many, many other obligations.

Soon, your employer will also have to decide if this commitment includes mandating that all employees get vaccinated against COVID-19. To be clear, employers can legally impose such a mandate.

But will everyone in the c-suite agree on what the right thing to do is?

Words

Words can make a lover’s heart melt. Or break.

Words can inspire an entire nation. Or divide it.

Words are powerful, and thus they must be used carefully.

And defined carefully.

Oxford Languages has just published the 2020 Words-of-the-Year list. The entire document is worth a read but you can skip to page 36 for the definitions.

There you will find words that are critical to your being an ethical leader. Words like allyship, anti-masker, covidiot, systemic racism and wokeness.

The right word can open a door, a mind, a heart.

It’s gotta hurt

Major League Baseball has just severely punished one of its players.

The punishment is severe because the infraction was severe. Canó tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug and, as a result, has been suspended for an entire season. He will also forfeit his $24M salary.

Given that this was a repeated offense, I don’t understand why Canó wasn’t simply fired. He clearly demonstrated that he cannot be trusted. Perhaps it has something to do with his contract or with the union. In my company, if you survive one major violation, you won’t survive a second one.

That said, Corporate America might want to follow MLB’s lead and go after big bonuses more aggressively than it has in the past. An executive involved in serious wrongdoing, but not quite serious enough to get fired, should see their bonus disappear – completely. Perhaps the punishment should not be announced on Twitter, like the MLB did with Canó, but it should be shared with other executives, as a warning.

I’m sure Canó had plans for his $24M. And now he has time to reflect on why these plans won’t materialize.

Two sides to each conflict

What should you do if your spouse gets a job offer from a competitor of your employer?

Most people know they should report the potential conflict of interests to their ethics office. And most ethics officers will work with you and your colleagues in creating processes that will avoid actual conflicts and leaks from your organization.

But what about your spouse and the competitor? What is your and your organization’s responsibility? That is a step often overlooked by ethics officers. In some circumstances, it might be reasonable, even advisable, to ask the spouse to inform the competitor of the apparent conflict. In other cases, the ethics officer might even call the competitor’s ethics office to discuss the matter.

Think of it this way: we ask employees to disclose conflicts to their organization in part because if something goes wrong later on, it will look suspicious if the conflict was not disclosed, even if the conflict had no bearing on the thing going wrong. Similarly, we need to consider how our organization will be perceived if something goes wrong and we made no attempt to let the competitor know that we knew of the potential conflict, even if the conflict had no bearing on the thing going wrong.

To some, this might feel like overreaching. To me, it’s a reasonable additional layer of protection for all involved.

Exercise for the coming week

  • Write “Ethical Dilemmas” on a blank sheet of paper and leave it on your desk where you can see it.
  • At the end of each day, write down one ethical dilemma you encountered.
  • Right next to it, write down your decision and why you decided this way.
  • Next, identify how you could share your decision with your entire company, or your team, or at least one person.
  • Then go ahead and share one decision at the end of the week.

Repeat next week.