Would you work for a company you consider unethical?

[SparkFinder]

I've spotted a job advert that would be perfect for me. I know someone who works for the company and they are a great employer by all accounts. But they are in an unethical industry. Imagine gambling, alcohol, cigarettes, defence, that kind of thing. There are people made miserable by how they make their money. But it could be great for me and my family. Would you work somewhere like that?

Honestly, I would if it was the right job.

In your position I would apply and attend interviews if selected. Meeting people face to face, seeing the office and working culture would help me decide if I would be comfortable with my choice.

No but then again I have also never worked in the private sector, my principles are important to me and I want my job to have a purpose beyond making money. However, similar to a pp I recognise my privilege in this and apprciate not everyone can hold this stance. But it works for me.

Yep.

However I doubt there is a single company out there that can really be considered truly ethical, anyway.

There are very few totally ethical companies under late stage capitalism, so I think realistically most people do work somewhere that is unethical in some way.

So depends on your own judgement value. I couldn’t do anything in animal testing or the meat industry but if push came to shove pretty much anything else I would. I think my job now is quite moral because I help people, but the wider company has investments in things that are less ethical (arms for example)

No, I withdrew from the application process with a security company when I found out they recruited former child soldiers from Africa to use in private militia. Just not something I wanted to be involved in.

At this stage in my life it would depend on how good the pension was. 🤷‍♀️

For a 10% pension contribution I’d definitely work for a tobacco or gambling company

I don’t think any of those you mention are unethical.

I am a very high earner in one of those industries and have never heard anyone consider it unethical. Of course some people are opposed to the product being supplied but that doesn’t equate to it being unethical.

I’d have a bigger issue working for an inefficient public sector body as I’d feel I was ripping off the taxpayer. Thankfully that has never really been an option for me as public sector salaries are way too low to bother with.

It’s down to your own moral compass.

Sadly it’s not always down to your own moral compass. Thats a privileged position to be in.

If you have to support yourself and others then you sometimes have to do things you are morally uncomfortable with to pay the bills and put food on the table.

I think it’s not only about the industry, but also the role and what it is you’ll be trying to achieve.

For example, I would never work in the Sales or Marketing divisions of a gambling organisation. But I would work in their compliance function if that involved things like anti-bribery, sanctions, and modern slavery compliance as that would effectively be ensuring that the gambling organisation adheres to ethical requirements. Like others say, not taking that role won’t stop the industry existing, but you could shape it into something a little better.

It's a bigger picrure and costs/benefits balance for me - what are the working conditions, is line manager sensible, what is their pension, health plan, leave etc and my bottom line - there are parts of my industry I avoid, parts I can live with and ideal work scenarios I'd love but unfortunately don't exist.

I'm in healthcare btw

Depends how much I needed a job.

In A capitalist society, people profit from all sorts of things that are bad, but we consider the service they provide to be essential. As an example, my friend is a criminal barrister and therefore profits from crime, poverty etc.

Defence is essential. The others (gambling etc) I would not want to be part of.

It’s not privileged to have a moral compass. It’s one of the last resources left to a person with nothing else. I recommend reading Viktor Frankl.

I do. But didn’t realise what level when I began (young and naive). Currently planning my exit strategy, wouldn’t go and work for another company like this but also struggle to believe any corporate level job isn’t going to have some degree of it. Except maybe charities or NGO’s or something?

It depends on your situation- beggars can’t be choosers

I turned down a great job a couple of years ago because it was unethical. Also walked away from a business when business partner started considering unethical practices. I am lucky that I could make those choices though. Had I needed the job/money my decision probably would have been different.

I work in energy. If BigOil offered me a job, I'd take it.

Well .......I've worked for banks.....so, yes.

There are some industries I wouldn't work for - gambling and tobacco fur sure. In one job we had tobacco as a client and I refused to work on that client account (though, admittedly, it was mainly because they all smoked all the time, and gave out free cigarettes, and I have a strong dislike of the smell and a bit of a phobia of ashtrays).

I think it's nigh on impossible to find a for-profit company that is 100% ethical.

Personally, my own morals refused an interview at a tobacco firm from a recruitment consultant yet I have worked in supermarkets and banking which can also be involved in unethical practices.
I wouldn’t want to work in gambling, porn, tobacco, vapes and I wouldn’t like my dc to work in those places either.( I appreciate my dc are free to work wherever they like)

I couldn’t do it. But I recognise that being able to make that choice is a privilege and I don’t judge those who do.

A note of caution though - I have a friend who worked in a role related to weapons (for the MoD). He left that job after a few years in part because he felt so uncomfortable about being a part of that. 15 years later, he still feels bad that he ever did it - even though he has since done a job that people would consider to be objectively for “good”. So do try to think about not only how you feel about it now, but how you might feel in the future having done the job itself. Few things are as clear cut, morally, as arms, though.

@GreatWhiteJar

It’s not privileged to have a moral compass. It’s one of the last resources left to a person with nothing else. I recommend reading Viktor Frankl.

It's one thing to have a moral compass. It's a privilege to be able to turn down work if a family relies on you for its wellbeing to exercise that moral compass and if you don't recognise that you are privileged indeed.

I have a strong moral code and there are plenty of things which would make me feel uneasy. I have been threatened by employers by seeking to draw moral lines in the work I do.

I don't need to read Viktor Frankl to understand that as sole breadwinner, I don't have the luxury of cherrypicking work according to where it aligns with my code. It's shit, but that's life for many of us.

You can draw the line wherever you want.

I was approached about a great role at a tobacco company, I declined an interview. I also heard on the grapevine they were a great employer, paid very well. But then perhaps they need to do more to attract people.

I think I would really struggle to work for a tobacco or gambling company so would only do as a last resort. Alcohol I would be ok with, defence maybe. Your boundaries may well be different and that’s fine.

I couldn't. But then, everyone's ethics are different. I'm currently in the civil service and wouldn't have a problem working for the MOD. But I couldn't work for the Home Office in immigration enforcement. I've also been headhunted several times by oil companies in Saudi (no idea why) and I blew those out - I could work in the oil industry as it's a resource that we all use whether we like it or not, but I couldn't work for a company owned by a country who treats women like second-class citizens and chops people up in embassies in other countries.

I've had to in the past when it was the only option.

Volunteering at charity that helped people impacted by the industry helped ease my conscience