Everyday Ethics

We live in a CYA world. Most people are pretty focused on their own self-interest, and this is a very natural thing to do. We don’t like to have bad things happen to us, and when we have the opportunity to protect ourselves, we usually feel like it’s okay to do so. But often, CYA is not the most ethical strategy, and walking the line between self-preservation and doing the right thing can be exceedingly difficult. The temptation to justify otherwise questionable conduct in the name of CYA is strong, and even exceedingly moral people have trouble resisting it.

Consider the following example. My wife and I will be moving to Ohio in August so that I can start a PhD program at Bowling Green State University. She is also pregnant, and her due date is a couple weeks before our moving date. This means that she will not be returning to her job after going on maternity leave. She recently had to sit down with her boss and discuss when she would be returning, so that they could plan accordingly.

The temptation toward CYA was compelling in this case. Had she refrained from revealing that we would be moving, she could have gone on maternity leave, kept her insurance, and received 60% of her pay for six weeks. However, had they asked her the direct question “when are you planning to return to work,” the only way to retain these benefits would’ve been to lie. Otherwise, her last day of work would not be the day that she goes on maternity leave, it would just be her last day, with no maternity benefits, and no more insurance.

The dilemma, one that we both struggled with, was whether it was acceptable to lie, either directly or by withholding relevant information, in order to serve our own interests in this case. We both decided that it was not, and she opted to tell them the truth. Interestingly, one of her motives for doing this was to avoid the stress of having to maintain the lie over a period of several months. Not only is doing the wrong thing troubling at the time, sometimes it can be very stressful over a longer stretch. What seems to be in your best interest often proves not to be, once this is taken into consideration.

Just today we learned that her company is hoping to allow her to go on maternity leave anyway, even though they know she won’t be coming back. So in this case, doing the ethical thing appears to have been the best decision, though it doesn’t always work out this way. Many companies would’ve jumped at the chance to avoid paying maternity leave and insurance for an employee that they knew wasn’t returning, and I feel fortunate that my wife’s company is not among this group.

The more challenging dilemma is when the best consequences for you are achieved by covering your ass, rather than being ethical. Whatever you happen to decide in these cases, keep in mind that a desire to protect yourself does not change your ethical responsibilities, and opting to cover your ass can often have unpleasant consequences as well. The fact that something isn’t the best deal for you doesn’t mean it isn’t the right thing to do.

About the Author

Elijah Weber is a graduate student at Bowling Green State University. He holds a Master's degree in philosophy from Colorado State University, and Bachelor’s degrees in sociology and philosophy from Chapman Univerity. He currently lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan with his wife Laura, his son Brandon, age two and a half, and two cats, both of whom are mentally deranged.