Nearly one-in-four hiring managers — 24 percent — say they have fired an employee for being dishonest. CareerBuilder.com’s survey, “Honesty in the Workplace,” was completed in December 2005 and featured more than 2,050 workers, including 1,000 hiring managers.
Fifteen percent of workers reported they were caught in a lie at the office. When asked why they felt compelled to bend the truth at work, respondents cited the following reasons:
— To appease a customer (26 percent)
— To cover up a failed project, mistake or missed deadline (13 percent)
— To explain an unexcused absence or late arrival (8 percent)
— To protect another employee (8 percent)
— To get another employee in trouble or look better in front of a
supervisor (5 percent)
“It may seem cliche, but honesty is the best policy,” said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.com. “Even if you are motivated by the best of intentions, being deceitful can seriously compromise your credibility with colleagues and negatively impact your career progress. The vast majority of hiring managers — 85 percent — say they are less likely to promote an employee who has lied to them or other members of the organization.”
The most common lies workers say they have told at the office include:
— I don’t know how that happened (20 percent)
— I have another call to take or I’ll call you right back (16 percent)
— I’ve been out of town or out sick (10 percent)
— I like your outfit or you look great (8 percent)
— I didn’t get your email, voicemail or fax (8 percent)
