Question

Assuming you are working in a team for a company, do you think there are any ethical issue if you know that one of the team members is actually interviewing with other company. The team member does not want to inform the team of his or her intention to leave until he or she gets an offer. Do you think it is ethical that you also decide to act ignorant about it and not telling your team lead or manager of this fact ? Let's assume your team also have a deadline coming up, it will more than likely be too late for the team manager to find a replacement for the team member that wanting to get away.

Answer 1

• Without any context, there are no major ethical issues arising out of a situation where a team member is looking out for jobs else where.
• In such a situation, it would be fine to be ignorant and not tell anyone.
• However, given the context that the team member is doing it secretively, then an ethical dilemma arises.
• On the one hand, should one keep this information a secret and respect the team member's need to change jobs
• On the other hand, should one disclose it to the team and help in finding a replacement before its too late.
• It is firstly advisable to speak to the team member who wants to switch jobs and explain to him the repercussions of his action and how it can adversely affect the team.
• Try and convince him to at least stay till the deadline is met so that the team's performance is not affected and there is enough time later to find a replacement.
• If this does not work out, then the team manager needs to be informed so that he can take required action to take precautionary steps.