People want to fit in so badly in the workplace that they will give up their personal integrity in order to do so. Hanging out with the popular people, being liked and being just like everyone else seems the thing to do. There is a problem with that though, if all the people that you work with are doing things of questionable character, do you continue to try to fit in? Problems can range from simple communication issues to integrity issues. Anyone who gives up their personal integrity in the workplace in order to fit in really doesn't seem to stand for anything. I mean, how could you? If you are prepared to give up your personal integrity in order to be liked and in order to fit in then you really don't have anything that you stand for do you?
Ultimately, every single decision in the workplace comes down to one person. One person makes the final decision every single time. Even in a committee setting, a group of individual decisions set the direction for the committee. Perhaps at the committee level, giving up one's values in order to fit in is at its worst.
What's wrong with corporate America is the whole idea that you have to fit in in order to get ahead. You're supposed to be a team player. And in order to fit in you must have the same attitudes, opinions and beliefs as everyone else. Well, if you have the same attitudes, opinions and beliefs as everyone else then you're simply following aren't you? You aren't advancing your own career. You are simply moving wherever the pack moves. That's not getting ahead, that's simply keeping up.
Take a look at any riot event and you will see the mob mentality at work. This is exactly how committees operate. I am not saying that committees are destructive. I am simply pointing out that committees are all-inclusive and will not move forward without all of their members. It's a mob mentality. One person starts and the others follow.
Imagine this same mentality when faced with integrity issues on the job. One person's integrity becomes compromised and the others follow. Now you have a group of people who don't stand for anything. They believe in nothing. They only believe in getting ahead. And what do they do to get ahead? They give up their integrity.
Even whistle-blower policies can be questioned. Are people blowing the whistle on their bosses because it goes against the integrity of the whistle-blower? Or, is it an opportunity for the whistle-blower to get their 15 minutes of fame or to place themselves in a position for promotion? If the second answer, then there is no integrity involved. Bringing someone else down in order to raise your own stature is as wrong as the original crime. As the saying goes, two wrongs don't make a right.
ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT: There is a dearth of integrity on the job these days. People take shortcuts. People have been raised to believe that they are special and that they can be whatever they want to be. Many in the workforce today have had everything simply handed to them. They have not earned it. There is a greater sense of entitlement than there is a sense of integrity. This raises one profound question that must be answered. If everyone is entitled, who pays? That question alone should challenge your personal integrity.
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