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?

Well it's your choice and not really up to anyone else.

As is what is constituted as unethical (some people seem to consider half the businesses around as unethical these days).

Personally no I wouldn't. But the list of things I consider unethical is pretty small.

I think it’s really easy to say no, I wouldn’t, but if the industry generally pays well, and higher than your current industry I absolutely see the appeal. I work in what would be classed a fun and interesting industry, and I have a close friend I met through work who was on the same level as me who moved to a different, unethical, industry. She’s now earning twice as much base salary plus a min 30% bonus, for a job very similar to mine. She’s single and lives alone, and being able to save a lot is obviously important. My situation is different as my dh is a high earner so I can afford to be fussier about who I work for.

A very long winded way of saying do what you feel is best for you and your family. If you took the job and it still didn’t sit well with you in a year you can use the experience and your higher base salary as leverage elsewhere.

I wouldnt work for something I didnt agree with, like the meat industry or the NHS, but I wouldnt care if it was just considered unethical but I didnt care about it. The western world is so hypocritical, one person working for a bank or investments or whatever wont make any difference to them or anyone else.

I think I'd give them a chance. I also think a flat 'no' is unrealistic, and what people are saying here is not necessarily what they'd actually do. I bet some of the people saying they wouldn't work for an unethical company, shop at supermarkets which are known for poor ethics, buy products from companies known for poor ethics, eat produce which is ethically dubious, wear fast fashion, etc etc and aren't willing to support the ethical versions of these things though paying more...but expect you to effectively pay more to work somewhere more ethical.

For example working for a gambling company might be 'unethical' but what it it was a gambling company who were the most ethical gambling company e.g. getting people to set daily caps that they can't increase without 24 hours notice, flagging up escalating behaviours with warning message etc etc. Surely it's better for this company to have a bigger market share than companies who are happy to keep taking the money without these steps? Also some industries that on the surface may seem unethical might actually do things behind the scenes to improve things. Eg the gambling company might fund research into gambling addiction prevention (unlikely, but you don't know until you look into it). Some companies are terrible but others aren't so bad.

Some organisations it is clear whether it’s ethical or unethical but it’s not always the case. I work for a Local Authority in a Dept that people would agree do very vital work -Children and Family Social Work, but the Local Authority also has a planning department that makes very questionable decisions based on commercial interests to the severe detriment of certain parts of the community. I actually campaign against some of the Local Authority decisions ( in my own time) that I work in , so that is a bit mixed up.

It depends how unethical it is and how desperate I was for work.

I'm a healthcare professional and would rather work minimum wage in Macdonald's than become a PIP disability assessor, despite the superior pay and flexible working options on offer.

That isn't true and it's very simplistic.

There's no amount of money that would make me work for a tobacco or gambling company. None.

I personally wouldn't if I could at all avoid it, but I understand that everyone is different and I wouldn't judge others for it, unless it was something truly nefarious.

I did once apply for a supermarket job and the application form asked whether there were any parts of the store I would prefer not to work in so I said the tobacco kiosk. If I had been Jewish or Muslim I could have said not pork products. I got through to the next stage so presumably this did not count against me!

I enjoy gambling and work in the industry in a senior role earning a large 6 figure salary.

I was attracted to the industry as I’d rather work somewhere I have a degree of attachment to. The idea that senior execs in the industry are some sort of unethical cabal is laughable.

I have worked with alcohol brands before and I'm just about ok with that, perhaps as I drink occasionally myself - but I wouldn't work for tobacco, defence, fossil fuels or gambling. Or things like car brands, F1, motorcycles, plastics manufacturers etc.

I also wouldn't work for a fast fashion brand or high sales / low ethics brand like Temu.

I would also feel uncomfortable working for investors / banking, especially those which fund fossil fuels.

I don't think I'd work for a big global pharma company either having learned about corruption and price fixing in the industry.

I just don't think I could find job satisfaction doing it.

It's a luxury to be able to afford ethics.

If I had to I would but wouldn't be happy and worried find a new job as soon as I could.

I nearly did have to work for a company they I considered unethical in its practices and the behaviours it encouraged - they provided a lot of store cards back then, high interest rate, staff in stores were heavily encouraged to lie to customers to get them to sign up, you could argue that was down to the retail company, but I had staff from the banking company lie to me on the phone and set me up for paid for extras I very clearly had told them I did not want.

I was offered the job after a phone interview, but fortunately, I was offered a job elsewhere so escaped that fate.

I would.

Go for it - if the job is advertised then someone will get it it’s not you. So it’s not like you taking a stand will make a difference so if it suits you then go for it! I am sure many jobs could be classed as unethical although not officially! Good luck

It's very personal. Everyone has their own line and tbh that's very much affected by need.
Make your decision and stick to it. You don't need to justify it to any one else

I think it's really complex. I wouldn't work as a DWP medical assessor because although I would be a force for fairness and good, I've seen so many reports about how reports are 'ratified' and down rated. I can't be part of that.

It's not just direct immorality that is the issue, it's indirect. I would find it really hard to work for a profit making company that relied on people's poor circumstances or vulnerability to make money. So I would only work for a not-for-profit that gave subsidised or free support to those who need it.

I have worked in a library for a medical research place which did some animal experimentation. I turned down the opportunity for an interview with an online gambling company. I'd be okay with an alcohol company, despite having had an alcoholic mother. I wouldn't work for a tobacco company, though one set of grandparents met at the baccy factory. I've worked for a telecomms company, who in more recent years were very keen on traceability of the entire supply chain, including insisting on suppliers met certain standards, and have their modern slavery statement and so on. How far can they really be sure, though?

I'm currently working in defence, but I don't think I'd be comfortable working on weapons systems, which I don't do, but obviously I know people in other departments who do, and I guess I am essentially supporting them at a remove. I live not many miles from Aldermaston, so I know a few people who've worked for AWE, but I don't think I would, even in a support function that isn't directly building atomic weapons.

But I never been totally on the breadline, though at times I was close. It is a privilege to be able to say, I would not consider that work. And yet, I suspect if I were that desperate, I would probably do something like cleaning or supermarket work, so lower skilled and lower paid than I currently do. But I have never been at the point of testing that. (I did cleaning at times as a student.)

I’m a civil servant and I’ve decided if Reform did get into power I wouldn’t work for them, democracy be damned. I will sell my soul and work for the banks or the oil industry and make the money I’m able to make with my skillset with a clearer conscience and more in my back pocket than I would with Reform.

I definitely would not, unless forced to for survival, to feed my DC, but, thankfully, that's unlikely in the UK as most of us usually have at least some options available.

Nope

It’s likely I would. I think it’s very privileged to say you wouldn’t

My ex had somewhat of a breakdown at a gambling company.

I worked for a fashion company, shiny on the outside corrupt ad anything on the inside. I stayed 2 years and then got the hell out. It wasn't what was sold but I told myself once in if I can work here I can work anywhere and that's remained true.

I think it's your own worldview,.MH and resilience. If you're going through your selfish ere you'll probably be fine!
Get you friend to refer you. If you get it you don't have to take it. But it'd be a good choice to have :)

I think it depends on the job and what the ‘issue’ is. If it’s in an industry/profession that is necessary to society despite making some people unhappy and some have the view it is is some ways unethical (think maybe debt collecting, DWP, some areas of social work, insurance, criminal defence law, jobs like that) then I would consider it if it was a good fit for me. If it’s a role that isn’t essential to society, profits off of dysfunction and misery and conflicts with my values in a fundamental and inescapable way then probably not. I’m thinking betting shop, anything relating to the sex industry, making cigarettes or vapes, selling them and alcohol to kids, loan companies that charge huge interest rates, any job involving duping people into spending money, those I wouldn’t consider at all.

The misery of gambling is brought on by themselves. If you take away gambling then you’ll have the folk complaining it’s a nanny state