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Submitted by chenderson on
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One of our five Company core values is Integrity which we discuss continuously.  My Controller of 7 years continues a friendship relationship with our Ex-Human Resource Manager who has given a police confession to felony credit card theft from our company.  I realize that I as senior manager cannot get involved in employees’ personal life but I feel this is very different.  What are your thoughts?

02JZabel's picture
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What is your concern? How do you know about the ongoing relationship? Do you feel comfortable talking to the employee about it? Does it make sense to have the conversation? 

If you engage in regular O3s, you may be able to broach the topic in a non-threatening way and ease your mind. No one can ever know what goes on between two people. If you believe that this employee is engaging in behavior that is harmful to the company then you can’t ignore it, but that should be based on observed behaviors. So what is the employee doing that is making you nervous? 

At a minimum, I would have a gentle career conversation with the employee- in your role whether it’s here or elsewhere, you are responsible for $. You should be aware or I am concerned  that your continued public relationship with someone who has a felony theft record may affect how others perceive you. What do you think?  

This puts the ball in their court. I would never tell an employee not to associate with certain people, but I have let someone know when they are creating a public relationship with someone that may be detrimental without saying anything negative about the person in question. It’s a fine line, and it has to be handled and discussed in a professional and detached manner. 

ConradAnderson's picture

Did you have a real experience when you interfered with the employee’s personal life and it gave the result? Working as a manager is very much afraid of only harming it. Share your experience please.

LarrySantos's picture

Show Respect to coworkers with appropriate conversation and empathy.If you want a great culture and true employee engagement, provide benefits that positively impact not only your employees but also their loved ones.If you understand your emotions and how to manage them, you will be more effective in expressing your feelings.