And our workplaces suffer as a result.
According to a recent Wall Street Journal artcle, lying in the workplace begins before somone gets a job and ends at the exit interview.
While many of us may consider our lies harmless, they could have significant consequences. The habit of lying becomes contagious, and it does not take long for such a habit to become the norm, and then the norm to become part of the culture of the organization.
Lying in the job application process
One study estimated that 75% of hiring managers caught a candidate lying on a resume (somewhat misleading; this does not mean that 75% of applicants are lying). Such resume padding occurs at all levels, from entry-level to CEOs.
Lying on the job
Three of the most common reasons for lying are: to get a raise, to take credit for somebody else’s idea, and to cover up mistakes. And the higher people climb in an organization, the more often they lie.
Work-life balance
Some people work when they claim to be taking time off, and some people take time off when they claim to be working. An inteersting study looked at what day of the week are people most likely to lie. Perhaps not surprisingly, Friday was hte most popular day to lie, with 41% of the lies, while Monday was not far behind at 35%. The other days of the week were each less than 10%.
The average person spends 1.5 to three hours a day at work on “private activities” (70% of U.S. internet traffic passing through porn sites is done during working hours, and 60% of all online purchases are made during working hours.)
The Exit Interview
The exit interview is the bellwether of workplace dishonesty—if people are lying on their way out, then chances are they have told plenty of self-protective lies all along the way. While many people leave their job becuase they feel their boss does not appreciate them, they may be hesitant to say so at a n exit interview.
While the article offers some useful advice about how to resuce the amount of dishonest in the workplace, I think one of the msot effective ways is to create a habit of not lying. Such habits are fored in early childhood, and need to be reinforced continually during a person’s academic years.
As I wrote in a recent post cheating is surging in colleges, and one of the reasons we re concerned is that such behavior could become the culture of the university. Once tht happens it would be a long and challenging process to change such a culture.
Anotehr reason we re concerned is that if a student is cheating in school, then it seems likely they will cheat on the job.
We all have a role to play in this culture of lying, but I think the most important thing is to simply be an honest person. It’s a lot easier than the alternative, and it puts you on a good mood when you know that you have behaved in an honorable way,
Sources:
This is when its good to not be like most people. LOL!
As the saying goes, “Honesty is the best policy!”
Though I don’t think you have to tell the boss that you don’t like them when you are leaving a job. Some things don’t need said, though I do kind of wish I would have told my boss that. 🙂
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we all have those regrets of not telling a jerk what we really think of them 🙂
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Yes, but in the long run it is probably better that we didn’t tell them. 🙂
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hmmm…. 🙂
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If honesty is the best policy, then sneakiness is the second best. Because if you’re sneaky enough, you won’t get caught, and then you won’t have to lie.
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Well yes that does work too, you doolally! But it didn’t work for me when cutting class in HS, to go get a milkshake, for we got caught!
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Oh rats. Sorry you got caught. I guess you needed to work some more on your sneakiness.
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Yeah, I wasn’t an expert yet then. LOL!
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and now you are! 🙂
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“No comment!” 😉
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👍
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hopefuly you learned a lesson about the need to be even sneakier…
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I can’t find a flaw in your logic…
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I, 100%, have claimed fake sick days – esp at the job that had unlimited sick days. But karma’s a bitch… I later ended up sick for more than 3yrs.
Otherwise, I’m “honest to a fault”, even when it gets me in trouble.
I’ve never in my life had an exit interview.
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I am sure you are not alone in faking sick days; I’m guessing that’s why Fridays are the biggest day of the week for lying. I have never had an exit interview either…
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I intentionally faked sick days on Tu-Th.
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If you’re sneaky enough, you’ll never have to lie. Because you’ll never be confronted with your sneaky behavior. So maybe employees should attend workshops on how to be sneakier.
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those seminars would be packed…
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To take credit for somebody else’s idea- the most common I think. By this chances of you getting a raise will also boost.
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it’s funny what people will do to get a raise…
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When I lie four to eight times a day, I figure I am allowing someone to remain truthful all day and maintain the daily average lie balance.
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that is so kind of you; you’re doing your good deed for the day…
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Lying about consequential matters requires a good memory. My memory is terrible; so I try not to lie. Honesty is the best policy.
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I agree; and it’s hard to keep a lie going. I think you usually end up getting caught…
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I know that people lie, but I always question the statistics of studies such as this. For one thing, how do they determine how many times people lie in one day? Because the liars told them how many lies they told?🤣 Oh, it’s Friday. I better get to work on my lies.
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good point; you can’t believe a single thing in that story. I’m guessing once people retire, the number of lies they tell drops…
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Eons ago I put down the right amount when we were all claiming travel expenses and everyone was saying ‘you can’t put less than everyone else!’
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I have had that experience too!
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and who said honesty pays! 🙂
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talk about peer pressure!
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Really interesting, Jim. I’m surprised by the statistics, especially the amount of time spent on personal activities during working hours. I’m sure that some lying is due to people wanting to avoid trouble – eg not telling your boss he’s a complete idiot and couldn’t manage a playground.
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I wonder how many lies are lies of commission vs omission…
and there is a lot of wasted time at work…
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This was rather shocking to me. Not the fact that people can be dishonest, but I would have never guessed it would be in those numbers. Now, when it comes to the time spent on personal matters rather than work, I see that every day. As a firm believer in karma, I avoid dishonesty as best I can. Lucky, I have a boss who does not punish someone for being honest. We are all responsible for our own integrity or lack there of. And what goes around, comes around. So if you are comfortable lying to others, than you cannot be upset when someone lies to you.
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good point – it goes back to the golden rule. treat others as you would want to be treated.
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telling the truth aka not lying is so much easier, as you never have to remember whatever it was you made up. so even if you have no moral compass or principles, you can think of it as having more headspace, less ‘work’ to do, you can be lazier and just talk without having to consider what you’ve said before, and maybe that will make you think twice about lying. probably not though, if you’re pre-disposed to lying.
i’m not sure why, but i”m always shocked when someone with a prominent job is later discovered to have major lies on their resume. i just assumed they’d been thoroughly vetted prior to their hiring, but the paradox is, at that level, people are often taken at their word or reputation, no one dares question them, or things are intentionally ‘overlooked’
p,s, i’m telling the truth when i say this post has stirred up a memory/post for me, about an experience in my younger years -)
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I was guessing by the tone of your comment that this was a bit personal for you.
And I agree, it is so much easier to tell the truth, since there is just one version of it.
And I never got the lying on a resume either, since it seems like such an easy thing to check…
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not a bad memory, just a funny one )
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nice to have such memories 🙂
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Like other commenters, I found out a while ago that it’s much easier to tell the truth. Not only is it easier, it also makes you feel better about yourself. One thing that I am wondering about though is the definition of a lie for this study as there are many shades of reality between a truth and a lie.
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yes, there are those pesky little white lies. and there are lies of commission and lies of omission…
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Interesting post and I believe it because I’ve seen it. I have also been chastised for being too honest when others would lie. Corporations prefer yes-people so make it easier to justify lies. And although I was not good at telling lies face to face, I was great at telephone lies when I needed a day away from work.
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and my guess is that those telephone calls tended to happen on Fridays or Mondays 🙂
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Actually no because I knew those days were too obvious. Wednesdays were more likely. If you are going to lie, it is good to be smart about it.
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very strategic on your part!
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Interesting stats, jim. And that’s the truth. Cheers!
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I’d expect nothing less from a Govanhill man! Cheers!
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Ha ha. Very nice compliment, thanks jim!
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👍
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An interesting piece, Jim, but sadly I’m not that surprised. But at least most of us don’t have the Washington Post keeping count of our porkies…
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thankfully.
and thanks for another new word!
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Cockney rhyming slang at work…
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Hi Jim, sadly, based on my experience in the work place, this is pretty accurate. People do not regard theft of time in the work place in that light and will frequently lie themselves out of any situation. I do not lie at work, because money and recognition have never been my main motivation. My reputation and personal integrity as well as job satisfaction are the most important things to me. I strive for work life balance but my OCD and workaholic tendencies work against me.
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it is sad to realize the amount of dishonesty that happens in the workplace. And my guess is that despite your claim to being a workaholic, you have a nice work-life balance…
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Haha, Jim, not if you take into account that I’m supposed to work half days.
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ok, so maybe you work a bit more than a half-timer 🙂
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One occupation that particularly seems to attract dishonesty is journalism.
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selective reporting and sensatioanlism seem to be their trademark approach
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In my opinion, doing private stuff at work is stealing. People are being paid to work, not shop or surf the Internet.
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I agree, but if you’ve done all your work, and at a high level, I don’t see anything wrong with taking the occcasional break to surf the web. If a person is not getting their work done, then that is an issue…
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Fear, competition and greed pays its toll in all societies and organizations. Such a sorry state of being🙃
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I agree, Val. It is a shame the kind of things that motivate people…
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I find I exaggerate stories when I tell it in person (to sell it or give it a dramatic twist) lol.. Bad habit! But yes I do hate liars!
At work though, I feel so guilty if I ever told a lie or had a secret! Once my boss overpaid me and I told him right away.. He was impressed.. He said in all his years of owning his own business only 2 people came to him to let him know and he believed that an error like that happened more often than was reported…
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I’m with you; I don’t think I could live with the guilt if I did something dishonest at work…
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