Dealing with a thieving boss?
May 02, 2010
JOSEPH was once an employee of one of the reputable corporate firms in town. He was satisfied with his salary as it was enough to meet his basic needs, with a balance to carry out major investments. He, however, kept a blind eye when he discovered that his supervisor was swindling company money.
By Anthony Olwoch
JOSEPH was once an employee of one of the reputable corporate firms in town. He was satisfied with his salary as it was enough to meet his basic needs, with a balance to carry out major investments. He, however, kept a blind eye when he discovered that his supervisor was swindling company money.
That marked the beginning of his financial woes.
When the auditors found out that the books of accounts were not balancing, an investigation was carried out and the two were summarily sacked.
Imagine yourself in Joseph’s shoes. What would you do in case your boss engages in unethical conduct like defrauding the company? Would you just sit back, watch and endure his unprofessional conduct, or play along for the sake of maintaining your job?
It is usually much easier to impose disciplinary actions when a junior employee does not adhere to work ethics.
However, it is hard when the boss is the one involved.
Simon Musinguzi, a human resource expert in one of the mobile telecom companies in town, points out that a manager’s unethical conduct may manifest in various forms like favouritism, bullying of employees, sexual harassment, embezzlement of office money and failure to effect company policies.
“With the scarcity of jobs in our country, many employees would prefer not to risk their jobs and let the boss’ misconduct go on unbated,†notes Musinguzi.
In many workplaces, a number of bosses have been implicated in sexual harassment scandals. The victims usually succumb to the sex demands in order to be employed or maintain their jobs.
Musinguzi says it is important to address the situation from the onset.
“Assure your boss firmly that his/her sexual advances are not welcome and you would report to the higher authorities if they insist. If they are adamant, report them,†he advises.
Joyce Akello, a human resource expert in town, says when your supervisor favours some workers over others, it important to critically analyse the situation and get facts right. You need also to find out the opinion of your co-workers.
“When your concerns are genuine, meet your boss and talk to him/her calmly about the situation. Listen carefully to what they will say because you may only be having a misconception.
“If you are right and the favouritism continues, get the evidence you have against him and report to the higher authorities,†adds Akello.
Bullying at the workplace is another common offence that some bosses commit. They do this to intimidate, control or even scare off those employees that they think are a threat to their positions.
Akello stresses that workplace bullying or harassment should not be entertained and should be handled right away. But react in a manner that will not cause conflict or harm your career.
According to experts, financial-related crimes by bosses can be very difficult to report because in most cases, the juniors used as accomplices are given “tokens†to keep them silent.
Akello and Musinguzi agree that it is important to maintain a high level of integrity and transparency in matters concerning finances.
It is important to avoid succumbing to pressure by your boss to get involved in financial embezzlement because there are high possibilities of being discovered.
If you are working in the financial department, the least you can do is to report the any incidences of financial mismanagement to higher authorities. This will keep you from any malicious allegations.
JOSEPH was once an employee of one of the reputable corporate firms in town. He was satisfied with his salary as it was enough to meet his basic needs, with a balance to carry out major investments. He, however, kept a blind eye when he discovered that his supervisor was swindling company money.
That marked the beginning of his financial woes.
When the auditors found out that the books of accounts were not balancing, an investigation was carried out and the two were summarily sacked.
Imagine yourself in Joseph’s shoes. What would you do in case your boss engages in unethical conduct like defrauding the company? Would you just sit back, watch and endure his unprofessional conduct, or play along for the sake of maintaining your job?
It is usually much easier to impose disciplinary actions when a junior employee does not adhere to work ethics.
However, it is hard when the boss is the one involved.
Simon Musinguzi, a human resource expert in one of the mobile telecom companies in town, points out that a manager’s unethical conduct may manifest in various forms like favouritism, bullying of employees, sexual harassment, embezzlement of office money and failure to effect company policies.
“With the scarcity of jobs in our country, many employees would prefer not to risk their jobs and let the boss’ misconduct go on unbated,†notes Musinguzi.
In many workplaces, a number of bosses have been implicated in sexual harassment scandals. The victims usually succumb to the sex demands in order to be employed or maintain their jobs.
Musinguzi says it is important to address the situation from the onset.
“Assure your boss firmly that his/her sexual advances are not welcome and you would report to the higher authorities if they insist. If they are adamant, report them,†he advises.
Joyce Akello, a human resource expert in town, says when your supervisor favours some workers over others, it important to critically analyse the situation and get facts right. You need also to find out the opinion of your co-workers.
“When your concerns are genuine, meet your boss and talk to him/her calmly about the situation. Listen carefully to what they will say because you may only be having a misconception.
“If you are right and the favouritism continues, get the evidence you have against him and report to the higher authorities,†adds Akello.
Bullying at the workplace is another common offence that some bosses commit. They do this to intimidate, control or even scare off those employees that they think are a threat to their positions.
Akello stresses that workplace bullying or harassment should not be entertained and should be handled right away. But react in a manner that will not cause conflict or harm your career.
According to experts, financial-related crimes by bosses can be very difficult to report because in most cases, the juniors used as accomplices are given “tokens†to keep them silent.
Akello and Musinguzi agree that it is important to maintain a high level of integrity and transparency in matters concerning finances.
It is important to avoid succumbing to pressure by your boss to get involved in financial embezzlement because there are high possibilities of being discovered.
If you are working in the financial department, the least you can do is to report the any incidences of financial mismanagement to higher authorities. This will keep you from any malicious allegations.