I was shopping in a businesses known for it’s culture of treating employees well when I overheard a pretty disturbing conversation.  Now, before I go too far, I wasn’t eavesdropping, these people were just talking louder than they should have been and I couldn’t help but overhear.  It went something like this:

First Man:  So we’re in agreement then?”

Woman:  ”I think so.

Second Man:  ”I think so to.  We give the job to Jeremy.”

First Man:  ”I don’t need to tell you how important it is that the employees don’t know we had this conversation.  We’ll post the job today, ask for applicants and next week we’ll announce Jeremy as the person selected for the position.”

The two other people concurred.  

I found this whole exchange disturbing on several levels.  First, what’s up with lying to your employees?  Of course there are times when you don’t tell everything you know, but lying? ? ?  Come on.  Second, if that’s the way you do business, why go to such extremes to pretend you’re a people company?  Is it so important to be “politically correct” in these days that you have to be something you’re not as a company?

The moral to this story is, be who you are.  Don’t try to be someone you’re not just to impress other people.  Didn’t you learn that in grade school?  It’s important that people like you for who you are, not who you pretend to be.  Be yourself and let the chips fall where they fall.

Just so those managers knew I knew of their duplicity, as I walked by them I said, “I wonder if the employees would be uncomfortable if they knew what had just happened here?”  Then I walked out (which is what I’d do if I were one of their employees.)