Is that side business deal really worth it?

Most employers, if not all, will hire employees that are not only hardworking, but also intelligent and creative.

With the roadmap of the company in place and the need for the company to attain the next level, it is important to also get passionate employees who not only love their jobs, but also are willing to go that extra mile to ensure the company goals are met. Nonetheless, this is the hardest and trickiest part for every employer because such employees are hard to come by. It is for this reason that it is important as a company to ensure that the outcomes of your employees or departments are measurable in order to ensure that even the least passionate employees are able to deliver what is expected of them. And this is where the annual performance appraisals come into play.

However, in any organization, there are those employees who perform beyond the expectations of their employers; those smart employees who go out of their way to propel the business to the next level. Those managers with an employment contract, who solely work for their employers and use their talents and intelligence to attract more clients to the business. Such are every employer’s dream. Every employer would rather have a liquidity problem due to high numbers of clients requesting for their goods and services rather than having to deal with the losses accrued to low demand for their goods and services. It is normal for every successful business to face the liquidity issue at some point during the business’ life, because this is what the business would require to attain that next level.

There are times that the manager could attract more clients than the organization could handle, and this could affect the quality of goods that the company could manufacture. Then instead of turning down the extra clients, the manager decides to divert such clients to another similar company and pocket the commission. This is particularly more relevant with the small manufacturing companies, and leads me to my argument, is it prudent and ethical when such a manager does these kinds of side dealings?

What is ethics anyway? Ethics is interpreted differently by different people, even though it basically boils down to the indispensable norms of the society. What is right and what is wrong. However, when it comes to the business context, it goes a bit further. It involves making good judgment in determining the right from the wrong, not forgetting what is stipulated in the law. That said; would it be right or wrong to take up such dealings?

As an employee, it is important to earn your employer’s trust that you are in that organization because you want to work as a team in order to scale the business to the most imaginable heights. Therefore, when you are very good in what you do, if you are a marketing manager who is able to attract more clients than the company could reasonably handle, that’s a good thing! However, the moment you take up or divert those extra clients without disclosing to your employer, it will result in breach of both the ethical and contractual duties to the company you work for.

Most employers would lay off such employees the moment they find out about such side dealings. This is because they will doubt your commitment to the company. On the other hand, the employee would like to make that extra cash. But ask yourself; is the side deal worth the risk? Good judgment should help you make the right decision because there are some employers who would like to see their employees’ careers soar higher and higher.  The moment you are not able to disclose such information, it is time you made the most ethical decision. Who knows; maybe a simple disclosure is what you needed to get your career to that next level.